Emotional outpouring to Arizona Basketball legend Lute Olson’s passing

As news broke that Arizona Basketball legend Lute Olson’s passing, the emotional outpouring of response was overwhelming.

We might break every editorial rule set forth my our management in this post, but it is purely full of the emotional reactions from the passing of Arizona Basketball legend Lute Olson. A man way ahead of his time using analytics to coach and supporting civil rights.

One Wildcats fan, @JohnnyUofA, explained how brave Olson was regarding civil rights, “At a time when the State of Arizona stopped recognizing the MLK holiday, Lute recognized the need to use his athletic platform to fight to bring it back, having Arizona jerseys emblazoned with MLK patches.”

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

It seems every program and team he touched, expressed their sympathy including Iowa Basketball, Duke Fan Verse, UCLA Basketball, Utah Basketball, Oregon Basketball, UCLA Coach Cronin and even coach Bobby Hurley and ASU Basketball. The John R. Wooden Award Twitter account even paid homage to Lute who received the Legends of Coaching Award in 2001.

The Pac-12 also reminded us of this quote from coach, “I was involved in coaching 51 years, and I never felt that I went to work.”

And it certainly felt that way! For 51 years, he brought joy not only in his coaching, but to the lives of others. Lute impacted the lives of so many, and since his passing, you have clearly seen the outpouring of love, support and complete adoration.

Let’s start out with NBA Championship coach Steve Kerr who mentioned his former mentor in his post Championship game speech.

"It’s hard to put into words how much Lute Olson meant to me. He was an amazing coach & a wonderful man. Being part of the U of A basketball family changed my life forever. I will never forget Coach O, those awesome nights at McKale and all my teammates. Thank you Coach- I love you! – Steve Kerr via Twitter"

Miles Simon, current Lakers Assistant Coach said the following from the NBA Bubble:

Richard Jefferson said he just lost three important people in his life, “The last three days… My coach Lute Olson, my hero Chadwick Boseman and now my teammate Cliff Robinson.”

"It’s rare that a man is a Hall of famer and still under appreciated. I’ll always feel like you never got the credit you deserved as a leader, family man, grandfather, coach and as a mentor. I love you Coach O [Bear Down]"

Channing Frye has had so much loss in his life, this must be so hard for him, “Me: God I’ve had about enough death, sadness, and anger for a year. God: trust that I love you.” He gave his appreciation with this tribute:

"Thank you coach for taking a chance on some skinny kid from Chandler,Az. I owe my whole basketball career to you and what you taught me. I’m gonna miss you."

Damon Stoudamire, current head coach at the University of the Pacific said it plain and simple, “It was always bigger than basketball with his players! #CoachO” But he wasn’t done and shared a memory:

"I told Denny Crum I was coming to Louisville. Midnight Lute called. We talked for 3 hrs! He Changed my mind, then changed my life! Never truly in my eyes got the credit he deserved. It’s okay though! Love you Papa Lute!!"

Georgia Tech head coach and former Wildcat Josh Pastner:

"Coach Olson is the absolute best, one of the greatest coaches ever and one of the greatest human beings ever. My feelings of gratitude and appreciation cannot be put in words. I love him dearly. My heart hurts, but I know he is now in heaven. May god bless his family. #RIP"

Matt Muehlebach, now a sports broadcaster, fondly remembers his former coach and mentor:

"So blessed to be able to play for Lute Olson. An amazing teacher on and off the court. His legacy is many things but I am so grateful for his friendship and the UofA basketball family he built that will always live on Toasting a glass of Pinot to you Coach O #LuteOlson #BearDown"

The Voice of the Arizona Wildcats, radio broadcaster Brian Jeffries whose voice you hear on almost all of the memorials and videos involving Coach Olson and basketball:

"In my 40 years in Tucson no person has done more for this city than Lute Olson. It went beyond victories and championships. He galvanized this community with his dignity and genuine love for his players and all who knew him. His influence will be with us forever."

Corey Williams, former Arizona Wildcat, posted a video that was very heartwarming:

Todd Walsh, who worked under coach Olson, gave us a fantastic montage, with promises kept! Lute was ahead of his time and a pioneer of the sport. He was into analytics before there were even analytics in the game.

USA Basketball reminded us of Lute’s USA gold medal (Look at those short shorts):

Arizona legend Chuck Cecil got it all in, in only a few sentences:

"Legendary coach, man, father, husband, friend, mentor, teacher, golfer & forever one of the greatest Wildcats of all time. #LuteOlson Rest In Peace. His 1st year was my 1st year @AZATHLETICS He lives on in the multitude of people he inspired, including me.  #BearDown"

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable memories came from Agent Zero, or Gilbert Arenas, as we lovingly know him. Known for his energy, his antics and overall loveable qualities, Arenas recanted how Olson coached him in-games typically.

Former UCLA Head Coach and now Sports Broadcaster Steve Lavin even shared some special photo’s, and share his thoughts and prayers.

https://twitter.com/SteveLavin64/status/1298437902473469959?s=20

Perhaps Tucson Star beat writer and former Arizona Wildcat Justin Spears said it best with his memory when he started writing for the Star,

"“When I first started at @TucsonStar, one of the first rules I was taught was “Lute Olson is spelled with an ‘o,’ because you can’t spell god with an ‘e.’” Tucson lost a god-like figure today.”"

Okay, get your tissue out, a fan posted this and it brought us to tears:

https://twitter.com/RaeeRaee_/status/1299189906250412033?s=20

An emotional Mike Budenholzer, who once coached at Lute Olson summer camps, gave this emotional message from the bubble. He is an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks who are playing in the NBA Playoffs.

Lute’s photo was just shown in memorial center stage in between the late Chadwick Boseman (passed a day later from cancer at 43) and Clifford Robinson (former Blazer who just passed on) during a moment of silence at the relaunching of the NBA Playoffs before the Bucks and Magic were about to play. Coach Bud was visibly emotional during the tribute.

One of the best interviews with Coach Olson was with Seth Davis, here is part one of two. Lute didn’t only build up the program at Arizona, he also built up the program at Iowa:

We know you all have stories and photo’s about and with our beloved Lute Olson, please do share in the comments below an on our social media pages, and as always, Bear Down, Arizona!