Statue of former University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson on the north side of the McKale Memorial Center located at 1721 E Enke Dr, on Aug. 26, 2020.

 Josh Galemore / Arizona Daily Star

Even in the expanded world of 280-character tweets, that's clearly not been enough for former Wildcats to talk about Lute Olson.

Then again, former Wildcat great Steve Kerr found it hard to put into any amount of words what his college coach meant to him.

Pacific coach Damon Stoudamire, who starred at UA and in the NBA, noted how Olson's recruitment of him out of Portland changed his life.

Tom Tolbert said Olson an incredible program and men, while Joe McLean said the life lessons Olson taught stuck with him.

Former guard Jawann McClellan, now a police officer in Houston, said it was "far more than just basketball" with Olson.

A standout on Olson's first teams, Pete Williams, said he idolized Olson like nobody else and grew from his mentorship.

Richard Jefferson, meanwhile, was one of many who said Olson didn't get enough recognition for what he did.

Even Olson's college basketball rivals offered plenty of praise.

Stanford dug up a vintage photo of Olson and Mike Montgomery, his top rival in the Pac-12 in the late 1990s and early 2000s, while UCLA showed Olson with John Wooden and Oregon had a photo of Olson waving to Ducks fans.

One of Olson's more notable non-conference rivals, New Mexico, also posted condolences.

ICYMI, here's our story about Olson's life. On Thursday evening, UA issued statements from Sean Miller, Robert Robbins and Dave Heeke about Olson while fans were placing flowers at Olson's statue outside of McKale Center.

Olson's alma mater, Augsburg (Minn.) University, also posted a tribute to him.

Interactive timeline: Lute Olson's Hall of Fame life, career
Lute Olson remembered

The Star's Justin Spears, Bruce Pascoe and Alec White break down the current NBA Wildcats remaining in the bubble for playoffs. Plus, what does the Pac-12 college basketball season moving to January mean for Arizona and its rotation of players? The guys also discuss Los Angeles-area combo guard K.J. Simpson committing to the UA, becoming the Wildcats' first commit of the 2021 class. To end the podcast, Star investigative reporter Caitlin Schmidt shares details from her latest story on the UA track and field program, which highlights several sexual assault incidents and a "rotten culture" within the UA track and field program.

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