Access all of our stories devoted to the life and accomplishments of Arizona’s Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson by clicking here.
Out of all the video tributes produced to celebrate the impact Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson made on Tucson and the University of Arizona, none are more captivating than what Fox Sports Arizona’s Todd Walsh put together.
Former Arizona media relations specialist Brett Hansen, a senior director of communications and marketing for Fox Sports Arizona, alerted me to the video that was released with a tweet tonight. Hansen was with the program when I covered the team from 1995 to 1998 for The Arizona Daily Star.
Walsh, a student manager when the Olson era began at McKale Center in 1983, and Fox Sports Arizona created an impactful five-minute video that will give viewers goosebumps and stir their emotions.
“There was more to the process than cultivating wins and rebounding from losses,” Walsh mentions in the video. “Lute Olson raised a fleet of young men who became an extension of himself. He commanded and demanded respect.
“There was honor in the game and in the man. Inevitably, like the very best coaches, like his idol John Wooden, over time, ex-players began to realize that what he was teaching wasn’t just basketball, it was about life.”
Here is the video:
“Lute promised that this was a bandwagon with plenty of room and asked that we climb aboard to enjoy the ride. He promised, he delivered, and we did.”@ToddWalsh remembers the iconic Arizona coach.@APlayersProgram pic.twitter.com/ChckdtCxMF
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) August 29, 2020
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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