Lights. Camera. Lute.
Arizona tipped off its basketball alumni weekend on Friday with the world premiere of “Lute,” a documentary about the life of late Arizona basketball icon Lute Olson, who died at 85 years in 2020.
Directed by Emmy Award-winning director Brett Rapkin, the Podium Pictures production was shown in front of roughly 1,000 people at Centennial Hall on the UA campus in the hours leading up to Red-Blue Game. It will debut on CBS sometime during the upcoming season.
Several of Olson’s former Arizona players and colleagues, including longtime assistant coach Jim Rosborough and former UA athletic director Jim Livengood, gathered for a meet-and-greet session before the screening. Jason Terry, the documentary’s executive producer, attended; so did A.J. Bramlett and Pete Williams. Former UA star Eric Money gladhanded with UA coach Tommy Lloyd before the curtain went up.
“Everything I am today, as a man, I owe it all to Coach Olson,” Williams said. “It’s a brotherhood. ... It’s great seeing all of these guys.”
The documentary, narrated by Luke Walton, highlighted Olson’s upbringing in North Dakota, his path to the UA, the Wildcats’ 1988 Final Four, 1997 a national championship and how Olson built Arizona into a nationally recognized brand in college basketball. Steve Kerr, former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, Sean Elliott, Tom Tolbert, Reggie Geary, Mike Bibby, Gilbert Arenas and Richard Jefferson were all featured in the documentary.
“Today is a special day. We’re honoring an icon,” Lloyd told the crowd at Centennial Hall before the documentary played. “This guy needs to continue to be honored. … This is the highlight of the weekend.”
The big number 4
Number of first-round draft picks judging Arizona’s dunk contest. The dunk contest judge panel included ex-Wildcats Jason Terry, Deandre Ayton, Lauri Markkanen and former women’s basketball star Aari McDonald, who was taken third overall by the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA draft in 2021. The Wildcats would’ve had five first-round draft picks as judges, but Stanley Johnson, who’s now with the Utah Jazz and was an eighth overall pick in 2015, was a no-show.
“It was great,” said Oumar Ballo, who had 16 points and seven rebounds on Friday. “For us, seeing those guys who played here a long time ago — and we’re really grateful for them. We’re here because of them. They set the standard high. We know they’re watching us, so we have to do our best for the program and for those guys who made this possible for us.”
Ex-Wildcat Richard Jefferson (who shouted “Bear the (expletive) Down” when shown on the McKale Center video board) attended, as did Rawle Alkins and Bob Elliott. Bramlett, who was a part of Arizona’s 1997 national championship squad, was also among the dunk judges.
Former Arizona and NBA standout Richard Jefferson, left, takes a quick photo with an Arizona fan on the sidelines during Friday's Red-Blue Game.
“It’s cool,” Lloyd said. “To have Rawle, D.A. (Ayton), Lauri and all of these guys to come back ... those guys left a mark on Arizona, and I think we should honor every time we get, and I hope they come down more and more.”
Other judges were comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo and Midland lead singer and Tucson native Mark Wystrach.
Arizona forward Filip Borovicanin shoots a layup under forward Azuolas Tubelis.
Cats’ red alternate unis have modern touch
Arizona didn’t have to hold a White-Blue Game on Friday, after all.
After announcing retro-themed white and blue versions of their new uniforms on Wednesday, the Wildcats unveiled a red version that features a different font on the jerseys. The red alternates made their debuts (fittingly) at the Red-Blue Game.
Unlike the blue and white jerseys, which feature vertically arched lettering that is reminiscent of the ones the Wildcats wore in the late 1980s, the red jersey lettering features the “kicking R” font that Arizona currently uses throughout the athletic department and in the Arizona Stadium end zones.
Wildcats host high-profile recruits
Arizona hosted three recruits on Friday for Red-Blue Game: 2023 commit K.J. Lewis, 2024 five-star small forward Carter Bryant and ’24 five-star point guard Zoom Diallo.
The 6-foot-8-inch Bryant of Newport Coast, California, is rated the seventh-best prospect and the top recruit from California for the ’24 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports.com. Diallo, a 6-4 guard from Tacoma, Washington, is rated as the second-best point guard.
Lewis, a four-star shooting guard from El Paso, remains Arizona’s lone commit for 2023.
Arizona freshman point guard Kylan Boswell initially committed to the UA’s 2023 class, but reclassified to join the Wildcats for this season to rehabilitate a foot injury. Boswell suited up for the Red team, then switched to the Blue team, but did not see the floor — as expected.
He said it
“When I took this job a year ago, they told me, ‘You people in Tucson have a drinking problem.’ … You know what I tell them? ‘We don’t got no problem drinking at all.’” — Lloyd, introducing Midland at the Tucson Convention Center last week
