Arizona Basketball: Legendary Arizona coach Lute Olson is re-inducted in College Hall of Fame

Legend and Hall of Famer, Lute Olson, will be getting re-inducted into the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Luuuuuuute. Long time fans of Arizona Wildcat basketball will know that reference as it was heard many of times during player introductions inside McKale Center. After 24 years of being the head coach at Arizona, Lute Olson established himself as not only the greatest coach at Arizona, but also in college basketball. His stats speak for themselves.

What he did for this program and for the city of Tucson is of legendary status. When you think of Tucson now, you think of college basketball and you think of Arizona Wildcat basketball. Why? Because of one man, Lute Olson. Imagine what this program may have been like if he had decided not to come here and stay with Iowa.

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For his achievements, the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is re-inducting the former head coach. He was originally inducted in 2006. Olson was also inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002. Hall of Fames,  championships, this man has done it!

The university also showed their appreciation for what he has and what he meant to this program. In 2001 they renamed the court to Lute Olson Court and then in 2001 they renamed the court inside McKale Center to Lute Olson and Bobbi Court to honor the passing of his late wife.

The stadium that Olson built. Even though former Coach Fred Snowden was the first to coach inside McKale Center (which was built in 1973), finishing with a record of 167-108, what Olson did during his tenure at Arizona put McKale center on the map.

https://twitter.com/APlayersProgram/status/1113079604095287296

His overall career at Arizona is GOAT like. What he accomplished over his 24 years as head coach is crazy if you really stop and think about it.

There are many highlights in his coaching career, but the one that will stand out for most Wildcat fans is the one national championship he won in 1997. All coaches, college or professional, in any sport are judge not only if they are winning, but also winning championships. If you take out of the equation the one championship, is Olson still a hall of game coach? In my books, he is. Many will probably disagree with that statement, which is fair.

Current head Coach Sean Miller receives a lot of criticism among media and fans that because he hasn’t one a title or even taken a team to the Final Four, he is not a “great” coach. That’s an unfair statement to make as winning a national championship requires not just great talent, but also a lot of luck. It’s just a matter of time before Miller is cutting down those nets in April.

Under Coach Olson, many talented players came to play for this program in which he developed and went onto have hall of fame careers as players and even coach. He surrounded himself with top players and assistant coaches, which ultimately led to many great things for this program.

At Zona Zealots, we would like to congratulate Coach Olson on getting re-inducted into the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He has impacted the city of Tucson on so many levels, which we can’t thank him enough for. Bear Down, Arizona!