Everything you need to know about Lute Olson's statue, Thursday's unveiling
Coach Lute Olson will be honored with a statue on the north side of McKale Center, facing the UA mall.
Statue ceremony Thursday
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Lute Olson led UA to the Final Four in 1988, 1994, 1997 and 2001, part of a Hall of Fame career that led to a statue outside McKale Center.
Hall of Fame basketball coach Lute Olson will be honored on Thursday with a statue outside McKale Center. Here's everything you need to know about Arizona's legendary coach, the statue itself and the ceremony:
All about Lute
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Coach Lute Olson's Arizona Wildcats won the national title in 1997. The Pac-12 is still searching, 21 years later and counting.
Olson, now 83 years old, led the UA for 24 seasons, posting a 589-187 record. His teams made Final Four in 1988, 1994, 1997 and 2001. The Wildcats won a national championship in 1997. Olson was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Olson's legacy in retirement has been the players he put through to the NBA.
About the statue
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The unselfish play of Jason Terry was a big reason the Wildcats won the program’s only national title in 1997 under coach Lute Olson.
The $300,000 statue will sit outside the entrance to the Jim Click Hall of Champions on the north side of McKale Center. Olson's statue will face the UA mall. The south side of McKale Center, where a bust of football star John "Button" Salmon once stood, was not considered because of potential arena expansion plans, the UA said.
Who's paying for it
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The UA has been crowdfunding the event for months, and has so far raised $225,000 of the $300,000 needed for the statue. Donations are being accepted here. UA legend Steve Kerr donated his likeness in the form of Original Retro Brand jerseys and t-shirts to help fund the project.
Why now?
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Coach Lute Olson is beaming while listening to star player Sean Elliott at a rally and parade at for the men's basketball team at University of Arizona stadium in Tucson after the 1988 NCAA Final Four.
The statue ceremony marks the 30th anniversary of Arizona's first Final Four appearance.
About the artist
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A bronze statue of Earvin "Magic" Johnson stands outside Staples Center.
The statue created by Omri Amrany, the co-founder of the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany. Along with his wife Julie Rotblatt-Amrany, Omri Armany has help create many of sports' top recent statues. He has immortalized Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson and Gordie Howe, among others. Read more about him here.
The Tucson connection
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Arizona coach Lute Olson gets a hug from his wife Bobbi after an 84-79 overtime win over Kentucky for the national championship in 1997.
The UA hired Tucson-based architects Line and Space to coordinate the Olson sculpture. The firm, located on Speedway Boulevard, chose the pose and designed an exhibit showing Olson's accolades.
What the statue looks like
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Star illustrator Tammie Graves tried her hand at sketching a Lute Olson statue for a Greg Hansen column that ran in 2016.
Olson will be holding the 1997 NCAA Championship trophy, but the rest of the statue remains very much a mystery. Olson said he and wife Kelly received a sneak peak when they went to see “parts” of it in Phoenix recently, but he doesn’t know exactly what the statue will look like.
“I think they’ve done a great job,” Olson said.
Elite company
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UA legend Lute Olson will join some of the sport's all-time greats to have statues, including UNLV's Jerry Tarkanian.
Olson becomes one of a select few basketball coaches to be honored with a statue. A partial list of honorees includes John Wooden (UCLA), Pete Newell (Cal), Jerry Tarkanian (UNLV), Jim Valvano (NC State), Al McGuire (Marquette), Phog Allen (Knasas), Norm Stewart (Missouri) and Johnny Orr (Iowa State).
Most of the coaches are standing in their statues, where Tarkanian — Olson's predecessor at Long Beach State and one of his UA-era rivals — is sitting, his trademark towel in his mouth.
Thursday's unveiling
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Lute Olson’s instincts led him to hire strong assistant coaches who helped recruit top players, which elevated the UA basketball program.
The statue unveiling begins at 4:30 p.m. Thursday just north of McKale Center. The event is not open to the public. Fans can watch a live-stream here or follow The Wildcaster on Twitter for photos, videos and live updates from the event.
Look who's talking
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UA athletic director Dave Heeke sent an open letter to boosters, season ticket holders and employees on Friday vowing improvement.
UA athletic director Dave Heeke, Olson and other invited guests will speak during the ceremony. The event is expected to last until 6 p.m.
Want to know more?
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Mike Bibby gets instructions from coach Lute Olson during the 1997 NCAA College Basketball Championship game in Indianapolis, IN.
Click on any of the attached links below for more on Olson's statue.
