Arizona to honor former basketball coach Olson with statue
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Arizona says it will honor former Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson with a statue on campus.
Athletic director Dave Heeke announced Tuesday that the project will cost about $300,000 with most of the money coming from private donations.
Construction is scheduled to be completed next March. The statue will be located at a pavilion outside the north end of the McKale Center basketball arena.
Olson coached Arizona from 1983 to 2008 and compiled a 589-187 record, guiding the Wildcats to the 1997 national championship, four Final Four appearances, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and 11 Pac-10 titles.
He was Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times and led Arizona to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons.
Olson, now 82, was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
