In the months and years ahead — forever, really — basketball fans can stroll past, gather around, and take photos with the Lute Olson statue that now stands on the pavilion outside McKale Center’s north entrance.
When they do, Arizona AD Dave Heeke says he envisions them sharing good memories about the former UA Hall of Fame coach.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Heeke said. “It’s a symbol right there at the front door.”
Thursday afternoon, during and after a ceremony to unveil the $300,000 artwork, dozens of former Olson-era players, staffers and donors gathered around to get a head start on that mission.
Before Olson’s bronze likeness was unveiled — and, yes, Olson said that designers “got the hair right” — they spoke of his attention to detail, work ethic, and determination to help his players grow on and off the court more than they did about the four Final Fours he won or the 1997 national title he won.
That didn’t mean it was always fun to be around Olson at the time.
McKale Center’s north entrance has been the location of a Lute Olson statue since 2018. Olson went 344-40 (.896) at McKale Center.
A freshman already unhappy with his playing time as a freshman in 1992-93, former UA forward Corey Williams said he went up for a rebound and crashed to the floor after teammate Etdrick Bohannon hit him in the eye in a practice shortly before the 1993 NCAA Tournament.
“I thought my face was broken,” Williams said. “I’m rolling on the ground, holding my eye and guys are crowding around me.
“Then I see coach. He looks up and says, ‘OK guys, we’re going to move the drill over here,’ and he stepped over me.”
Momentarily, Williams’ unhappiness soared.
“I took it personally, like ‘this dude is crazy.’” Williams said. “But everybody else, their reaction was, ‘that’s what we always do.’ It wasn’t that he didn’t care. It was that we only had two hours to practice so let’s stay focused. Let’s not get distracted.”
By the end of practice, of course, Williams realized Olson did care about him, getting with trainers and asking Williams how he was doing.
Williams became grateful for his trials four years later, when he started playing professionally in Europe.
“I wanted to transfer so bad my freshman year, but I’m glad I stayed,” he said.
Olson didn’t mind taking a few hard knocks himself, either, if that sent the message through.
While speaking during the ceremony, former guard Matt Muehlebach relayed a story about how Olson jumped head first into a coaches’ demonstration of a screen-and-roll play — then claimed he picked up a foul after running into then-assistant Ricky Byrdsong.
“Lute was there to hedge on the screen and Lute went down,” Muehlebach said. “All of the players are looking around like, ‘What’s going on?’ And the first thing Lute said when he hit the floor was, ‘charge!’”
Olson could be just as demanding off the court, trying to mold his players into adults in the same manner that he was molding them into professional players.
“We used to go out to restaurants that I couldn’t pronounce,” former UA star guard Damon Stoudamire said. “We’d always go out to dinner (on road trips) and at coach’s request we had to wear slacks and a collared shirt. I didn’t really want all that. I really just wanted a burger.
“But what I learned was etiquette. Coach was trying to teach us something bigger that we couldn’t see at the time.”
Arizona head coach Lute Olson holds the NCAA Championship trophy after his team beat Kentucky in the 1997 title game in overtime.
Stoudamire said the experiences began paying off already by his senior year of 1994-95, when he attended several formal postseason awards ceremonies for his All-American play.
Stoudamire, now the head coach at Pacific, says he often thinks of what Olson would do in some situations. Muehlebach does the same thing in his attorney’s office.
“His attention to detail, his preparation — I think about that every day as a lawyer,” Muehlebach said. “The preparation with Lute was as good as I’ve ever seen.”
UA forward Justin Wessel says Olson’s lessons also resonate off the court.
“There’s stuff I remember now that I have kids,” said Wessell, who works in real estate outside San Diego. “I see myself doing something that’s detail-oriented like him, with my kids, which is funny because it’s real life. Not coaching. It’s all from his life perspective.”
During the ceremony and in an interview session afterward, Olson returned the compliments. He praised his players, UA fans and even the Tucson weather when remarking on why he took over a 4-24 team in 1983 after nine successful seasons at Iowa.
“When people talk about me coming here in ’83, I ask them, ‘Have you ever spent nine winters in Iowa City?’” Olson said.
Heeke said the mood will be warm to anyone who gathers around the statue.
“It’s a great opportunity to have the statue right there so people can walk by and share their stories — about what kind of coach he was, the legacy that he left here but also what he did, how he mentored and coached,” Heeke said.
Rim shots
• Recruit Omar Thielemans said on Twitter that he take a recruiting visit to Arizona this weekend. The 6 foot-7-inch Thielemans plays for a club in Ostend, Belgium.
• Arizona is scheduled to host Class of 2018 point guard James Akinjo this weekend, but 247Sports analyst Josh Gershon says Akinjo is no longer expected to visit.
