Moments after the Arizona Wildcats advanced to the program's first Final Four in 25 years, head coach Tommy Lloyd paid homage to the foundation of UA basketball.
Following the Wildcats' win over Purdue, Lloyd gave a shoutout to the late Lute Olson and said, "There's a good looking guy with white hair looking down on us right now that's happy!"
Lloyd's tribute to Olson motivated Tucson muralist Danny Martin to paint a 20-by-50-foot black-and-white mural of Lloyd and Olson, the two men who led Arizona basketball to five Final Fours, near Fourth Avenue and Downtown Tucson.
"That was a special moment and it spoke to his character," Martin said. "I wanted to do something about this year's team, this year's squad. It was how I felt about this year's squad. That moment encapsulated how I feel U of A basketball represented Tucson and our area."
Tucson artist Danny Martin works on a mural of Lute Olson and Tommy Lloyd along Fifth Avenue at Seventh Street in Tucson on April 15, 2026. Martin, a University of Arizona alum, says he was approached by Corbett Brewing Co. to do a UA basketball mural. He says he wanted to pay tribute to the two coaches who have taken the men’s basketball team to the Final Four.
The mural is commissioned by Corbett Brewing on Seventh Street, across from Corbett's, a popular pickleball facility and bar near Fourth Avenue. If you're at Corbett's, "you have an immaculate view of this big wall," Martin said.
The image of Olson (left side of the mural) — who is wearing a suit in front of mountains and cacti — is from a graphic Martin created following the legendary coach's death in 2020. It is believed to be the only mural of Olson in Tucson.
"There might be one, but I haven't seen one," Martin said. "I haven't seen it. Why is there not a Lute Olson (mural)? We have so many murals honoring so many things in so many ways and you have someone who did so much for our town and our place and our part of the state. I think it transcends sports.
"The good energy of living here, representing that. Why isn't there a visual representation of it? ... Let's fix that. Let's make this big image, but not just of him, but the continuity; it's him and Tommy."
Danny Martin, a Tucson artist and UA alum, works on a mural of men's basketball coaches Lute Olson and Tommy Lloyd along Fifth Avenue at Seventh Street in Tucson on April 15, 2026.
The image of Lloyd is a photo Martin took of the Arizona basketball coach at a UA football game, with Lloyd donning sunglasses while standing on the sideline with Rob Gronkowski.
"I had this image of Tommy that I thought, for me, represented who he was," Martin said. "He was hanging out, having a good time and supporting UA football. He was hanging out with Gronk in the VIP area off the field. I had good seats, I yelled at him and he waved up and had the right energy."
With two small paint brushes, black paint and a white canvas on the side of a brewing company, Martin spent the last week adding another masterpiece to his collection of the "hundreds of murals" he has around Tucson, including the mural of Arizona football great Art Luppino — also known as "Cactus Comet" — on the southeast side of Casino Del Sol Stadium.
Why black-and-white art instead of adding color?
"That's the way I do it," Martin said. "That's been my style for the last 20-25 years. I do color sometimes, but it's high contrast. I was influenced by skateboard graphics, punk flyers, T-shirt images.
"The best way to think about my mural is a T-shirt graphic on a wall. That's how I approach my work. I want you to see it when you're driving by and I want it to look just as good when you're up close to take a photo. I do a lot of things like stickers and shirts, so my images work at any scale."
Martin is among the several muralists residing in Tucson, along with Joe Pagac, Ignacio Garcia, Jessica Gonzales and Rock Martinez, to name a few.
"This town really appreciates art," Martin said. "I've paid my rent for the last 15 years doing art only. That's really hard to do, and I'm able to do it because I live here and people actually here."
Tucson artist Danny Martin works on a mural of Lute Olson and Tommy Lloyd along Fifth Avenue at Seventh Street in Tucson on April 15, 2026.
Martin moved to Tucson "a quarter of a century ago" from Birmingham, Alabama, to start his art career at the UA. When Martin immersed himself into the Tucson community for the first time, Arizona basketball was at the peak of the Olson era. Martin has seen the glory — and the heartbreak — of Arizona basketball over the years.
"That's one of the reasons why UA athletics means a lot to me, because the U of A gave me an opportunity," Martin said. "What I'm doing right now has a direct relation to the U of A taking a chance on me. I was able to travel across the country and do my art, because they accepted me.
"I have a lot of loyalty to the University of Arizona."
