Arizona basketball coaching legend Lute Olson dies at 85

Arizona Wildcats head coach Lute Olson reacts in the second half from the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion for the duration of the sport on January 20, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. UCLA defeated Arizona 73-69. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Pictures)

Corridor of Famer and former Arizona men’s basketball head mentor Lute Olson has died at the age of 85.

The Arizona Daily Star’s Greg Hansen documented Tuesday that Olson was in a struggle for his everyday living in advance of Stadium’s Jeff Goodman and KOLD’s Dan Marries confirmed that Olson had passed absent on Thursday.

Olson was the head coach of Arizona’s men’s basketball application for 25 years, using the job in 1983 right before retiring in 2008. He is mostly credited with setting up the Wildcats as a single of the sports’ predominant forces on the West Coastline, putting up a document of 589-187 more than virtually 3 a long time.

Prior to Olson’s debut season, the Wildcats finished the 1982-83 year with 4 wins and 24 losses. Just after a debut 11-17 document in his initial 12 months, Olson’s Arizona teams went on to make the NCAA Match for 24 straight seasons, ending with solitary-digit losses in 20 of those people 24 strategies.

Beneath Olson, Arizona gained a standard time convention championship 11 moments, 4 postseason meeting tournaments and created the Last 4 of the NCAA Event on four various situations.

That involves the 1997 NCAA Match that the Wildcats received.

The plan acquired notoriety as effectively for acquiring NBA-caliber talent and helping them changeover into results at the up coming level, with notable names these types of as Mike Bibby, Gilbert Arenas, Jason Terry, Sean Elliott, Andre Iguodala and Richard Jefferson.

Arizona was Olson’s previous coaching halt just after paying over 10 many years coaching at the large college stage right up until shifting to Prolonged Seaside Group College or university in 1969. Following going to Extended Seaside Point out for just 1 yr in 1973 and likely 24-2, Olson took the head coaching job at Iowa, where he went 167-91 from 1974-1983.

Olson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. He was named Pac-10 Mentor of the 12 months seven various occasions.

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