Lute Olson is retiring. I had to see the words again in writing to truly believe it. When I heard Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood make the announcement shortly after 5:00 PM on October 23, 2008, a shiver quite literally went down my spine.

Although I had no ties to Tucson prior to getting the job here in August 2007, I was fully aware of what Lute Olson had accomplished at the U of A. He was the face of Wildcat basketball. In fact, you could argue that he was one of the faces of college basketball. If somebody asked me to name off a list of some all-time famous college coaches, off the top of my head I would say John Wooden, Dean Smith, Rick Pitino, Bobby Knight, Mike Krzyzewski and Lute Olson.

I can remember driving down Interstate 35W in Minneapolis back in April 2001 while I was an undergrad at the University of Minnesota. Along the side of the road, there was a huge billboard that read "Four Bobbi." The Final Four was at the Metrodome that year, and the billboard was essentially a sign of encouragement for the U of A basketball team to win the NCAA title in honor of Lute's wife Bobbi, who lost a bout with ovarian cancer earlier that year. Ultimately, Arizona lost to Duke in the title game, but I can't remember a time where I rooted for a team that wasn't from Minnesota more than I did for the Wildcats that day.

So it seems only fitting that I was privileged enough to report on Coach Olson's retirement. As I gathered fan reaction to the news, I found it fascinating to see how passionate and knowledgeable people in Tucson were about Arizona basketball -- fans knew everything from Lute Olson's coaching record, to info on the latest recruiting class.

The man brought so much joy to so many. And I wish nothing but the best of luck to the person who takes his place. It won't be easy to follow in the footsteps of a legend.

---