Lute Olson Keeps History On His Side

On Tuesday night, Lute Olson was busy getting ready to head to Indianapolis for the Final Four.

He was leaving from Arizona in the morning and had spent that day playing nine holes of golf. It’s part of his retirement plan at 75 years old. Now for at least the next year, Olson will keep a part of Final Four history on his side dating back to 1997.

That’s when the Arizona Wildcats won it all.

“We’re the only team to beat three No. 1 seeds. That team will stay in the record books at least one more year,” Olson said on the phone recounting his first NCAA title in five attempts.

“That was a magical year. Every game in the [tournament] was a battle right to the end. The three teams we beat – North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky - probably the three winningest programs in Division 1 and we got hot at the right time.”

Arizona’s season didn’t start as sizzling. Miles Simon was ineligible by University standards because of his first semester, although he was eligible by the NCAA. Olson had to move forward without him. Then once Simon was eligible, getting him into game shape was a different challenge. The last week of the season with Arizona on a Pac-10 title run, they lost to Cal and Stanford on the road.

But all that changed when the tournament started with Arizona as a 4 seed in the Southwest Region.

“We got hot at the right time. He had guys who could hit big baskets under pressure – Jason Terry, Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, and Michael Dickerson. Mike (Bibby) was the only freshman to lead his team to a National title, so there were a lot of special things about that team. But we had to play our tale off against South Alabama. They played a control style and were hard to catch-up too. The Kansas game was a cliffhanger. Providence I think went to overtime. Then we played North Carolina – they had (Antawn) Jamison and (Vince) Carter – and then jumped on his early. I think they had us down like 15-4 and then we made a great run back at them.”

Coach had confidence. He always has. After all of Olson’s accomplishments at Arizona – National Coach of the Year in 1988 and ’90 and a 7 time Pac-10 Coach of the Year – he never worried he wouldn’t “win the big one” during his 25 years at the University of Arizona.

“I thought we would. Probably our best team was the ’88 team when Steve Kerr was our guard. We normally shot the ball really well. We just had a bad game. That cost us. No one had gotten closer than 18 points. That really was a good team,” Olson said before turning his attention to this weekend’s Final Four.

It’s more than just Butler against Michigan State and West Virginia versus Duke on Saturday. It’s about the journey along the way. Monday is the final destination.

“That’s the thing that makes the NCAA have such a great advantage. It’s one and done. It’s not like the pros where you can lose by 20 and come back in still win the series. That’s what makes March Madness the greatest sporting event in any sport.”

So who does Coach like to cut down the nets?

“I would say West Virginia would be the favorite to win the whole thing. But if Butler gets by the first game, it’s going to be real interesting,” Olson continued.

“It’s great that Butler has made the move they’ve made. That game with West Virginia and Duke is going to be unbelievable. I’ve heard people say whoever wins that can would it all. But if Butler gets by (Michigan State) the semifinal game, people better keep their eye on them. Because I think Duke and West Virginia will be so up for that game on Saturday that they may not be able to go again on Monday.”

Either way, Lute Olson will be there to see it happen.

And history will be right there with him.

photo: mediacommercialappeal