College basketball loses pair of Hall of Fame coaches, former NBA star loses battle with lymphoma
The last days of August were tough for basketball fans, as two legendary college coaches and a former NBA star lost their lives.
Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson died on Thursday, Aug. 27, after suffering a stroke; former NBA player Clifford Robinson passed away on Aug. 29 after battling numerous health issues in recent years; and longtime Georgetown coach John Thompson died on Aug. 31. His cause of death was not disclosed.
Olson, 85, began his collegiate coaching career at Long Beach City College, a proud program in the California community college ranks. He later moved a few miles away to Long Beach State, where he led the 49ers to a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference championship. He was at LBSU for just one year after replacing fellow Hall-of-Famer Jerry Tarkanian as the school’s head coach.
From the beaches of Southern California, Olson headed to the Midwest to Iowa City. There he took over the reins for a struggling University of Iowa program. He coached the Hawkeyes from 1974 to 1983, leading them to a regular-season Big Ten title in 1979 and an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1980.
From there, Olson went on to Arizona, where he further cemented his college coaching legacy. He led Arizona to the 1997 national championship, defeating Rick Pitino’s Kentucky to claim the title in a battle of Wildcats.
In Tucson, Olson coached many great players while leading the program to 11 regular-season Pac-10 titles and four conference tournament championships. He guided Arizona to four Final Four appearances, always exhibiting class in both victory and defeat. He served as a mentor to former Tennessee coach Kevin O’Neill before the two had a falling out while Olson was taking a leave from coaching.
Robinson, 53 years old at the time of his death, played at the University of Connecticut before going on to a long NBA career. He played center and power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons and New Jersey Nets. He scored nearly 20,000 points as a professional player, averaging 14.6 points per game. Robinson was an NBA All-Star, once was voted the league’s Sixth Man of the Year and was a two-time all-defensive player.
Hall-of-Famer Thompson was a Big East legend, having played for Providence while a student and having built up the Georgetown program as a coach. After a brief pro career playing for the Boston Celtics (and winning a pair of NBA titles), he led the Hoyas to new heights and became the first African American head coach to win an NCAA championship. During his tenure at Georgetown, he coached Patrick Ewing, Othello Harrington, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning and Allen Iverson.
As a college coach, Thompson won 596 games and the 1984 NCAA championship. A center in his playing days, he received plaudits for his work with players at that position. Even more notable, though, was his reputation as an advocate for civil rights. Thompson was viewed as a controversial figure because he unabashedly would share his views on society.
After resigning from Georgetown in 1999, Thompson served as a radio and television commentator for Turner Sports and Westwood One during March Madness.
