RIP Lute Olson

[JasonEvans]

He was a giant of the sport...

https://www.kold.com/2020/08/27/uari...te-olson-dies/

Yeah, he did some questionable things (and I know K refused to play in Arizona after getting jobbed HARD by the refs on one visit), but he was largely a well respected man and he was unquestionably an excellent coach.

[budwom]

He was a giant of the sport...

https://www.kold.com/2020/08/27/uari...te-olson-dies/

Yeah, he did some questionable things (and I know K refused to play in Arizona after getting jobbed HARD by the refs on one visit), but he was largely a well respected man and he was unquestionably an excellent coach.

I was there..it was quite a game is all I can say...

[weezie]

Old school coach and very nice in person. He struggled mightily, suffering from Alzheimer's during his final years.
Duke fans may not have liked him much but he was a fine person.

[DavidBenAkiva]

I know this thread is about Lute Olson, and he was by most accounts a wonderful man, husband, and coach, but his passing got me thinking about all the coaches that have coached against Coach K in the Final Four. Olson's last trip to the Final 4 ended with a barrage of 3's from Mike Dunleavy and the spectacular all-around play of Shane Battier in 2001. Of the 12 trips to the Final Four (and counting?), only 3 coaches remain active:

• Roy Williams (formerly of Kansas)
• Tom Izzo
• Bob Huggins

That's it. Every other coach that has stood on the other sideline against Coach K is either retired or deceased. What an incredible career. And it's not even done!

[tbyers11]

I know this thread is about Lute Olson, and he was by most accounts a wonderful man, husband, and coach, but his passing got me thinking about all the coaches that have coached against Coach K in the Final Four. Olson's last trip to the Final 4 ended with a barrage of 3's from Mike Dunleavy and the spectacular all-around play of Shane Battier in 2001. Of the 12 trips to the Final Four (and counting?), only 3 coaches remain active:

• Roy Williams (formerly of Kansas)
• Tom Izzo
• Bob Huggins

That's it. Every other coach that has stood on the other sideline against Coach K is either retired or deceased. What an incredible career. And it's not even done!

Jim Calhoun is still active. If you count Division III.

To the topic, Lute Olson did seem like a standup guy. On-court rivalries aside my thoughts to his family (personal and basketball).

Also, Jason you spelled his name wrong

[brevity]

Jim Calhoun is still active. If you count Division III.

Brad Stevens is also active. If you count the NBA.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Jim Calhoun is still active. If you count Division III.

To the topic, Lute Olson did seem like a standup guy. On-court rivalries aside my thoughts to his family (personal and basketball).

Also, Jason you spelled his name wrong

Jason obviously has the Olsen twins on his mind. Perhaps they are the ones to solve all of the world's problems.

[brevity]

Of the 12 trips to the Final Four (and counting?), only 3 coaches remain active:

• Roy Williams (formerly of Kansas)
• Tom Izzo
• Bob Huggins

That's it. Every other coach that has stood on the other sideline against Coach K is either retired or deceased.

In addition to the asterisks of Jim Calhoun and Brad Stevens, there is a fourth official name for your list:

Spoiler!

Lon Kruger (Florida, 1994 semifinals) is the head coach of Oklahoma.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Jim Calhoun is still active. If you count Division III.

To the topic, Lute Olson did seem like a standup guy. On-court rivalries aside my thoughts to his family (personal and basketball).

Also, Jason you spelled his name wrong

Eh... A friend who is a huge Arizona fan and alum says Lute was a very I pleasant person off the court and in his personal life. I'm not in any position to judge, and wasn't going to bring it up unless someone stated otherwise.

Anyway, he was certainly a great coach with a lot of wins. His death is a loss for the sport.

[DavidBenAkiva]

In addition to the asterisks of Jim Calhoun and Brad Stevens, there is a fourth official name for your list:

Spoiler!

Lon Kruger (Florida, 1994 semifinals) is the head coach of Oklahoma.

My goodness, it completely skipped my mind that Lon Kruger was still active. Incredible.

Still, of the 19 games played, only 4 currently-active head coaches.

[bullettoothtony]

Ton of talent on the floor when we played them in the title game in '01. I remember it well.

RIP Coach.

[wsb3]

Ton of talent on the floor when we played them in the title game in '01. I remember it well.

RIP Coach.

I watched that game recently. I thought the same thing. How much talent was on the floor that night.

Also loved that he beat Dean in 88 in the NCAAT and in Dean's last game in 97. The 88 game really stands out for some reason, maybe because they crushed the Cheats and we did not know the 97 game would prove to be Dean's last.

https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/...ball%20history.

[jimsumner]

I watched that game recently. I thought the same thing. How much talent was on the floor that night. u

Also loved that he beat Dean in 88 in the NCAAT and in Dean's last game in 97. The 88 game really stands out for some reason, maybe because they crushed the Cheats and we did not know the 97 game would prove to be Dean's last.

https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/...ball%20history.

I've long thought that his '88 team was his best, better than '97 or '01. Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr, Anthony Cook, Craig McMillan, Tom Tolbert, Jud Buecher, future MLB star Kenny Lofton. Still not sure how they lost to Oklahoma.

I'm still waiting for that 1988 Duke-Arizona title match.

[freshmanjs]

My goodness, it completely skipped my mind that Lon Kruger was still active. Incredible.

Still, of the 19 games played, only 4 currently-active head coaches.

Not entirely surprising since 12 of those games were >25 years ago and another 4 > 15 years ago. Only 2 happened within the last 10 years.

[wsb3]

I've long thought that his '88 team was his best, better than '97 or '01. Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr, Anthony Cook, Craig McMillan, Tom Tolbert, Jud Buecher, future MLB star Kenny Lofton. Still not sure how they lost to Oklahoma.

I'm still waiting for that 1988 Duke-Arizona title match.

Speaking of Kenny Lofton. I loved those Nike commercials with all the fast people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUpdZn5rnD8

[miramar]

Yeah, he did some questionable things (and I know K refused to play in Arizona after getting jobbed HARD by the refs on one visit), but he was largely a well respected man and he was unquestionably an excellent coach.

Back in the day, some of the Pac 12 refs were complete homers. In fact, when I left California for Duke in 1987, I was surprised that the ACC refs were pretty fair all around since I wasn't used to that at all. There was a ref named Booker Turner, who actually did a few Final Four games, that was a homer even against other Pac 12 teams. On TV you would hear the visiting players yelling "Come on, Booker" at some of his more outrageous calls, but he didn't seem to get upset, or change his calls for that matter.

[freshmanjs]

My goodness, it completely skipped my mind that Lon Kruger was still active. Incredible.

Still, of the 19 games played, only 4 currently-active head coaches.

Also, it’s 21 by my count.

[cspan37421]

Those outside of Arizona may not be familiar with the "odd couple" corporate commercials Lute did with Bill Frieder, then coach of Arizona State.

Here's a collection of them; my favorite begins around 1m 57s. It really captures their respective personas in a humorous way.

[brevity]

My goodness, it completely skipped my mind that Lon Kruger was still active. Incredible.

Still, of the 19 games played, only 4 currently-active head coaches.

Also, it’s 21 by my count.

I count 21 as well. Let's just write it all out.

1986: W-Kansas (Larry Brown), L-Louisville (Denny Crum)
1988: L-Kansas (Larry Brown)
1989: L-Seton Hall (PJ Carlesimo)
1990: W-Arkansas (Nolan Richardson), L-UNLV (Jerry Tarkanian)
1991: W-UNLV (Jerry Tarkanian), W-Kansas (Roy Williams)
1992: W-Indiana (Bob Knight), W-Michigan (Steve Fisher)
1994: W-Florida (Lon Kruger), L-Arkansas (Nolan Richardson)
1999: W-Michigan State (Tom Izzo), L-Connecticut (Jim Calhoun)
2001: W-Maryland (Gary Williams), W-Arizona (Lute Olson)
2004: L-Connecticut (Jim Calhoun)
2010: W-West Virginia (Bob Huggins), W-Butler (Brad Stevens)
2015: W-Michigan State (Tom Izzo), W-Wisconsin (Bo Ryan)

Coach K is 14-7 in the Final Four. He is 2-0 against Tom Izzo so far, 0-2 against Jim Calhoun, and 1-1 against Larry Brown, Jerry Tarkanian, and Nolan Richardson.

[dukefan1980]

In 2009 I was at a charity event in Phoenix where I found myself seated next to Lute during the event’s after party. We talked about basketball for a bit and he was very pleasant until I brought up the fact that I was a Duke fan. His tone drastically changed and you could feel his disdain for Duke. He got so heated at one point that his daughter had to tell him, “that’s enough dad.” She apologized to me and said that he was still bitter from ‘01. I can honestly say that having lived in Arizona for 6 years, they are still not over the loss in ‘01 even to this day.