Rather than stress a specific design of play, Olson changed to the skills of his players, though he normally favored a free-flowing, up-tempo offense.
In the 1997 N.C.A.A. champion game, the Wildcats had quick guards in Bibby, Terry and Simon, all agreement All-Americans later in their collegiate professions.
” The method they desire us to play is the way we want to play,” Olson informed The New York Times, referring to Kentuckys defensive pressure on the eve of the champion video game. The toughest video games that we have to deal with are the ones where individuals are going to slow the thing down.”
Robert Luther Olson was born on a farm outside Mayville, N.D., in the far eastern part of the state, on Sept. 22, 1934. His father, Albert, passed away of a stroke when Lute was 5 years old, and his mom, Alinda, moved the household to numerous towns prior to settling in Grand Forks, N.D. Olson led his high school team to the 1952 state championship, then played basketball, football and baseball at Augsburg College in Minnesota.
After coaching high school basketball, he was the head coach at Long Beach City College in California. He then coached at Long Beach State for one season, posting a 24-2 record, and at the University of Iowa for 9 seasons, his groups there going 168-90.
Olson took the Hawkeyes to the N.C.A.A. competition in his last five seasons, including a journey to the Final Four in 1980, when Iowa lost to the eventual champion, Louisville.
Olson had a track record as a dogged employer, bringing him the label Midnight Lute for his ability to sign a gamer simply when an opposing coach thought he had been successful.
Lute Olson, Who Put Arizona on College Basketball Map, Dies at 85 – The New York Times
