Arizona basketball family recalls how Lute Olson built 'The Arizona Connection'

Steve Kerr learned more than just basketball while playing for late coaching icon Lute Olson at Arizona. Kerr picked up a new language — one that, he found out later, he shared with generations of Wildcats.

Kerr was named head coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors seven years ago. Andre Iguodala, who played at the UA from 2002-04, was one of his players.

The two didn't really know each other well. Kerr was a standout for the Wildcats nearly from 1983-88, and ended his NBA playing career just as Iguodala was entering the league.

“Within a week, we looked at each other and went, ‘Yeah, we see the game the exact same way for a reason, because we both played for Coach Olson.’ There was a connection between the players,” Kerr said. “The one thing I was most proud of as I went on to play in the NBA was the Arizona connection. We had more and more players coming into the league, and there was that bond.

"If a guy from Arizona was on the other team, even if you didn’t play with him or knew him that well, you just automatically felt that connection.”

That connection — and brotherhood — was evident during Sunday's tribute to Olson morning at McKale Center. Kerr and Iguodala were among the hundreds of former UA players, friends, family members, coaching colleagues and business partners who celebrated the life of Arizona’s national champion coach. Olson, who coached at the UA from 1983-2008, making four Final Fours, died in August 2020 at age 85. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a public memorial service was put on hold. Current Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd and his players watched Sunday's ceremony from the corner of McKale.

While Olson won — and plenty — his ability to unite his players and Tucsonans was unparalleled.

“Coach O is one of the best venture capitalists that I’ve ever seen, being able to identify a piece of coal and mining it into a diamond,” Iguodala said.

Olson inherited a team that had gone 4-24 under former coach Ben Lindsey; within five years, the Wildcats were playing in their first Final Four.

“Not in my wildest dreams could I imagine what happened, and the beautiful part about it is that we built it from the ground up,” Kerr said.

“It wasn’t that he was a great basketball coach; he was a great culture builder. Everything he taught … it was a masterclass on leadership, coaching, family and community. Everything I learned here has translated to my entire life.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Kerr was a high-schooler when he first met Olson at a Los Angeles-area basketball clinic. Steve Kerr’s mother, Ann, like many others, was on baord with Olson’s philosophies — and enamored with his dashing appearance.

“My mom knew nothing about basketball, didn’t know who Lute Olson was,” Kerr said. “Lute gets up there, perfectly coiffed hair, that signature blue blazer and crisp white shirt and khakis, movie-star looks, and then he proceeds to talk about family and the importance of family, education, getting a college degree and being a good teammate — all the words that a mother wants to here.

“Even though I wasn’t being recruited by him, she turned to me and said, ‘That’s the kind of coach I would love for you to play for.’ Then, after a brief pause, she goes, ‘And he’s so handsome, too.’”

Added Kerr: “Over the years, my mom didn’t really watch the games, but obviously cared about her son and wanted to know everything that’s going on. It was always, ‘How’s your teammates doing? Have you made some friends? How’s class going? And how’s that handsome Lute Olson doing?’ After the third time, it’s like, ‘OK, mom, we’ve established he’s handsome. Can we move on? This is getting a little awkward.’”

Olson's widow, Kelly, said the coach "woke up looking like a white-haired George Clooney."

Other speakers at Olson’s tribute included Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke, who said Olson “didn’t just create the standard, he was the standard,” along with former Arizona AD Ced Dempsey, UA great Jason Terry, Olson’s grandson Matt Brase, booster and friend Paul Weitman and longtime assistant coach Jim Rosborough, who paced the stage like a standup comedian telling as he talked about the most memorable and funny experiences and and Olson shared. At Rosborough's urging, the former UA players in attendance did defensive slides with their hands up — just like Olson taught them.

Weitman, whose grandson Grant is a walk-on at the UA, often traveled with Olson. They were in Budapest together when Olson’s first wife, Bobbi, needed an emergency operation. Weitman sat with Olson in the waiting room for more than four hours.

“We both were so scared and helpless. Lute asked me to call the doctor at the university to see if there’s any way that he could help,” Weitman said. “I called and explained what was happening and I’ll never forget what the doctor said: ‘What this guy means to us and what he’s done for our university, I’ll have two doctors there.’ The doctors were on the plane and by Bobbi’s bedside in a little over 24 hours. That kind of thing doesn’t happen.”

It wasn’t traveling from one continent to another, but Wildcats fan Susan Grala made the trek from Frederick, Maryland, to Tucson this weekend to honor Olson. Grala, a 1981 UA grad, attended the national championship win over Kentucky in Indianapolis in 1997. She arrived at Sunday's event carrying the seat cushion that she used that day. 

“He brought us to our one and only championship, so I have to pay tribute to the man. … To me, he put Arizona basketball on the map, and I owe this to him,” Grala said. “I wasn’t going to miss this for the world. He’s my coach.”

For 25 years, Olson brought players, fans and Tucsonans together. On Sunday, Olson once again found a way to unite people in the building he made famous.

“He changed the entire course of my life, and I know a lot of people here would say the same thing,” Kerr said. “Ultimately, I think his biggest accomplishment was bringing all of us together and creating this family … This is a big extended family, and it’s amazing to be a part of it, to come back to Tucson and see all the guys and there’s this automatic connection, it’s beautiful.”