was coaching," he said. "Now I play all the time." Death Olson was hospitalized in 2019 after suffering a stroke, and was moved into hospice care in August 2020. On August 27, 2020, Olson died at the age of 85. Legacy Lute Olson is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball. Along with the successful players noted above, Olson has 46 NCAA tournament wins, one behind John Wooden and one ahead of Bob Knight. His Wildcat basketball teams were wildly popular in Tucson, among university students as well as the general public; Olson brought a renewed sense of prestige to both the University of Iowa and University of Arizona at a time when both of their sports programs were mediocre. In November 2007, Olson teamed with publisher Mascot Books to release a children's book featuring the Arizona mascot touring the campus, entitled Hello, Wilbur!. Upon his retirement, accolades came in from several sources. Robert Shelton, University of Arizona president, said, "Lute Olson transformed the UA and Tucson into premier basketball country...Arizona now stands in the company of great college basketball programs, and we have Lute to thank for that. We will sorely miss his brilliance as our head coach, but we will benefit from the legacy he leaves for decades to come." Kevin O'Neill, the man originally tapped to replace Olson as Arizona head coach, but who later left the Wildcat program, stated: "I have great respect for Lute Olson. He is one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time...His legacy will (be) the standard at the University of Arizona for as long as they have basketball. I appreciate every opportunity he gave me." "He's been involved in the game and been a great ambassador for college basketball for a long time," former University of Florida head basketball coach Billy Donovan said. "There's no question he went through a difficult time and I don't know all that went on. He took over Arizona at rock bottom and built it into an incredible program...For him, maybe dealing with health issues and family issues, for whatever reason, it's not right for him to continue on. And I just hope he's at peace with where he's at in his decision." Greg Hansen, columnist and longtime Olson critic for the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, had this to say: "Until now, Lute Olson has been judged