Lute

I want so much for this post to be a tribute to Lute Olson, to talk about his legacy, his career as head coach of the University of Arizona basketball team, and just what he has meant to the city of Tucson, Arizona for the last 25 years. That, however, would be a fraud and a cheat. I've already talked about all that in a previous post, about how Lute came to town in 1983 to take over the reigns of the Pac 10 basketball cellar dweller, and built a national powerhouse. Lute's legacy will be the national championship of '97, the other three Final Four teams, the eleven Pac 10 conference championships, the Sweet Sixteen teams, the All-Americans who played for him, the future NBA stars, the 24 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, the induction into the Hall of Fame. Lute will always be revered for putting Tucson and the U of A on the national map, and giving the locals pride in his team and their school, as well as their city. Lute changed the city of Tucson forever, and nothing he did in the last few years can erase that.

However, what he did in the last few years unfortunately has tarnished what should have been a stellar legacy. The last hurrah for Lute Olson's teams occurred with about four minutes to go in an NCAA regional final a few years ago, when the Wildcats had a fifteen point lead over the heavily favored Illini of Illinois and looked like they were headed to Lute's fifth Final Four appearance with the team. Instead, the Wildcats stumbled and fumbled their way to choking up that lead and lost in a heartbreaker. In retrospect, Lute never got over that devestating loss.

In the next few seasons, he would sack his assistant coaches, including long-time assistant/associate coach Jim Rosborough, a favorite of his players. He would bring in Kevin O'Neill to help with discipline as he was forced to suspend and discipline players like Marcus Williams and Salim Stoudemire. Last year, he abruptly and without warning, took a leave of absence for personal reasons that lasted the entire season. O'Neill was dubbed interim coach, and the team stumbled its way to its first sub-20 win season since the mid-80's and barely made it into the Big Dance, only to exit in the first round to Purdue. Olson was furious, and fired O'Neill, as well as other loyal assistants/former players Josh Pastner and Miles Simon, the hero of the national championship team.

Blue chip recruit Brandon Jennings bailed on the Wildcats, and superstar freshman Jerryd Bayless left early for the NBA draft. But Lute appeared to be back, as he put his arduous and difficult divorce to his second wife behind him, and energetically recruited some top prospects. He convinced Chase Budinger to stay in school, and talked the other Wildcats into not transferring.

Practice started six days ago and Lute seemed energized and fearless once again. And then yesterday, as if coming out of nowhere, it all fell apart, as Lute shocked the college basketball world by announcing his retirement. What in the world? Why, in heaven's name, now? Why not months ago when the school could have done a national search and gotten a top name replacement? No big time coach is going to abandon his current team right now, just days before the start of the season, and come to Tucson. None of the current recruits or their families got a phone call from Lute, one mother of a recruit found out by a text message, and she is understandably furious. One by one the recruits have already "de-committed." The current Wildcats found out by watching Dick Vitale on ESPN. The whole thing has been heartless and shameful.

Don't get me wrong, I lived in Tucson for 25 years, almost the entire time Lute was the UA coach, and I love the guy for what he did for the town and the school. Words can't describe the excitement he brought to that sleepy burgh in the southern Arizona desert. But the way he's treated his players, the recruits, and his coaches the past two years has been reprehensible. And let's not forget the loyal fans, who pay a pretty hefty premium for season tickets. There's a lot of upset people in Tucson right now, and it just didn't have to be this way.

Lute Olson deserves his retirement, he deserves to spend time with his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. He deserves to bask in his achievements, and live out the rest of his life in comfort and happiness. But to leave the program he built, the powerhouse that he created, as the shambles that now exists, is beyond sad. To quote an anonymous child from a long time ago, "say it ain't so."