And so Lute goes…
Well it seems that Lute Olson is officially retiring. It has been a whirlwind of going, coming, staying, leaving, I am here, I am not here and finally after a year of speculation he has decided to hang up his whistle. I hope that fans across the country don’t remember him for this past year, but rather the good he did for college hoops and the fact that among active college coaches only Coach K has more wins then Lute.
We are talking about a man who has won 12 conference titles, 780 games, coached in 5 Final Fours and a National Title. He coached the likes of Steve Kerr, Elliott, Lofton, Miles, Bibby and Dickerson. Players most coaches would give anything for the opportunity to mentor and develop.
Two years ago when my daughter was barely 2 months old, we traveled to Tucson to visit my in laws, while my husband was deployed in Iraq. My father-in-law (Big Papa) was kind enough to get us tickets to a University of Arizona basketball game, fourth row seats if I remember correctly. Big Papa forgot to mention that I would be sitting next to his mother, Grammy M who knows more about coaching the Wildcats then Lute Olson ever did. So my poor daughter had the band playing on her right side, Grammy M screaming on her left side and her new mom wondering if this was the best possible environment for her daughter, who was actually covering her ears. Of course it was! She was surrounded by family that loved her, fans supporting their college, student athletes playing hard and a legend coaching on the sideline. What better environment for an infant?
Now as she grows up, I will be able to tell her that she saw the great Lute Olson coach. I just hope that Grammy M recovers from Lute’s recent engagement and retirement. (I think she may have a crush on him).
