The poster for the upcoming documentary, β€œLute.” The film will premiere Friday night at Centennial Hall.

 Courtesy of Podium Pictures

Lute Olson cut a dashing figure during his two-plus decades as Arizona’s men’s basketball coach. Just ask his players.

β€œWhen they talked about Lute’s presence, whether it was his height oar his perfect hair, (they mentioned) the presence he commanded when he walked into a room,” said Brett Rapkin, producer of the upcoming documentary film, β€œLute.” β€œChanning Frye talked in the film about his mom saying, β€˜Damn, that’s a good-looking white man’ when Lute walked into the room.”

But more than anything, the dapper Olson β€” who died in August 2020 at age 85 β€” was the consummate winner.

Over 24 seasons, Olson built the Arizona Wildcats into a nationally relevant and well-respected college basketball program. Olson’s teams played in 22 NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the Final Four four times, winning the national championship in 1997.

The late Olson’s life and legacy is the subject of β€œLute,” which will premiere at 5:30 p.m. Friday inside Centennial Hall on the UA campus. The documentary will also air on CBS during the upcoming season.

Rapkin, a UA alumnus who was a freshman during the Wildcats’ run to the 1997 national championship, started the project following Olson’s death.

β€œWhen Lute passed away … I asked myself, β€˜Why hasn’t there been a β€˜30 for 30’ or a definitive documentary about the Lute Olson era of Arizona basketball?’ And we were just able to make it happen,” said Rapkin, an Emmy Award winner. β€œThe athletic department supported the project happening, wanted to see it happen, and we were able to put the pieces together and thankfully get the participation from pretty much all the guys you’d want to see in the film, including Luke Walton, who narrates the film.”

Rapkin took his idea to Reggie Geary, Arizona’s director of development and a former Wildcats star. Rapkin’s UA ties and rΓ©sumΓ© was enough for Geary to sign off on the film.

β€œGetting to know more about him, the more I thought, β€˜Man, this is a guy who can really do a great job of telling Coach Olson’s story.’” Geary said. β€œI think if people come out, they’ll be really satisfied with the product. It’s a lot of great names, great interviews and footage that he was able to use.”

Geary, a former All-Pac-10 guard, is one of several ex-Wildcats featured in the film, along with Kenny Lofton, Steve Kerr, Andre Iguodala, Tom Tolbert, Mike Bibby, Richard Jefferson, Josh Pastner and Damon Stoudamire. Former Arizona star Jason Terry is the documentary’s executive producer.

Rapkin said creating Lute β€œwas an awesome experience personally, but I really just wanted to do it right and do it justice.”

β€œWe do go back to Lute’s childhood a little bit and growing up in North Dakota,” he said. β€œHe lost his brother and his father in accidents within a few months from each other, so I think a theme in his life was creating a sense of family, and I think he was able to do that with his longtime wife Bobbi and their own family, but also creating a family atmosphere for the team. … So I think we made the definitive Lute Olson-era Arizona basketball film we set out to.”

Geary felt the family atmosphere when he arrived on campus in 1992.

β€œWe’re brothers. There’s just something about being in this program and experiencing many of the same experiences in McKale, on campus, in this great community. I saw that when I first got here,” Geary said. β€œAs a player, I’d come back in the summer time and there’d be Steve Kerr playing pick-up or Jud Buechler, or Sean Elliott and Brian Williams. We’d see these guys go on to the NBA, then they’re giving back to us. That just stuck with us, and that’s something we passed on when we went to the pros. I’d come back and play with Gilbert Arenas and all the guys, so it’s just that familyhood that makes it a special place.”

UA recruits noticed the tight-knit relationship between players and Olson when they visited campus. That wasn’t the only discovery. Olson’s late wife, Bobbi, charmed the weekend visitors with her famous apple pancakes.

β€œSean Elliott’s mouth still waters when he talks about Bobbi Olson’s apple pancakes. It’s awesome,” Rapkin said.

UA coach Lute Olson holds up the net for the fans after Arizona beat Kentucky 84-79 in overtime to win the 1997 national championship.

The documentary focuses primarily on the β€˜97 season, when Arizona took down three No. 1 seeds in Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas to win it all.

β€œThose guys became superstars. If they weren’t superstars before March, they certainly were once that tournament was over,” Rapkin said. β€œThey got the attention of the entire country.”

Then more of the superstars flocked to Tucson to be a part of a basketball juggernaut in the desert designed by Olson.

β€œI remember seeing Luke Walton drive around Tucson in a white convertible. … They were the rockstars you’d read about,” Rapkin said.

The one-hour screening at Centennial Hall on Friday will be followed by a Q&A session with Rapkin, Terry and other producers of the film.

β€œWe’re going to see a beautiful tribute to Coach Olson, his life, his career and the legacy that he has here in our community,” Geary said.

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Contact sports producer Justin Spears at 573-4312 or jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter: @JustinESports