Apr 1, 2008 - 10:02 PM
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Olson, who had taken a leave of absence since November, indicated that he wanted to return to the Arizona sidelines after his divorce with his second wife, Christine, was made public on December 8.
Last month, the 73-year-old Olson officially announced that he would return to coach the Wildcats next season, and he held a press conference Tuesday to erase any doubt on whether he would be healthy enough to do so.
"I hope that you can see that I feel great," Olson said. "The university has indicated that they didn't feel that they could comment on the details (of the leave of absence), so I don't feel that I should either. Frankly, even though I realize that I am a public figure, I don't think I need to go into every nuance of my private life.
"Things going on in my life did create some health issues that I needed time to address, but it was not a health scare."
Olson's personal physician also said that the legendary coach was fit to return to the sidelines next season.
"I have examined Lute and cleared him to return to any and all coaching responsibilities as of March 24," Dr. Steven D. Knope said. "I find him to be in excellent health."
Interim coach Kevin O'Neill guided the Wildcats, who lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, to a 19-15 record this past season. O'Neill initially had been named the successor to Olson when he steps down, but he longer will be a member of the coaching staff.
"I'm going to be back and will fulfill my contract through 2011," Olson said. "I love doing what I do, and as long as I'm effective and I have the energy to do it, I will do it. We're going to play Arizona basketball and we're going to have fun doing it."
Olson, who has a mark of 589-187 at Arizona, is 20 wins shy of 800 in his 34-year coaching career. He guided the Wildcats to the national championship in 1997 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
