Source: Olson To Step Down 20 Wins Shy Of 800
Lute Olson will step down immediately as head coach of the Arizona men’s basketball team, FOXSports.com has confirmed.
The news, which was initially reported by ESPN’s Dick Vitale, was confirmed by a source close to the program.
Olson has not officially informed the team yet. Associate coach Mike Dunlap, a former national championship-winning coach at Division II Metro State and an assistant with the Denver Nuggets, will take over on an interim basis.
It’s highly unlikely Dunlap will be named the head coach permanently until the end of the season at earliest, due to the debacle last season with Kevin O’Neill.
O’Neill had been hired as an assistant before last season, with the intention that he would take over for Olson when he retired. O’Neill was then pressed into interim head coaching duty when Olson took a leave of absence for personal reasons. When Olson decided to return to the program, a rift developed between the two and O’Neill was eventually let go.
Olson, 74, will retire 20 wins shy of 800 for his career. He won a national championship with Arizona in 1997.
Source — FOX Sports
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