Doctor: former Arizona coach Olson suffered stroke

Oct 28, 2008 - 10:56 PM TUCSON, Arizona (Ticker) -- Former Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson suffered a stroke within the last year, his doctor said during a news conference at the McKale Center on Tuesday.

Dr. Steven Knope said the stroke caused "severe depression" and "changes in judgment," and told the 74-year-old Olson to step down.

Olson announced his retirement last Thursday - two days after he said he was "energized."

Knope said Olson suffered a stroke in the frontal part of the brain and talked to him for several weeks about retiring because the stress of the job was too much.

"He just couldn't put the pieces together," said Knope, who confirmed that Olson did not have Parkinson's disease.

Olson, who spent 24 years as Arizona's coach, took a personal leave of absence last season for what he later termed a "medical condition that was not life-threatening."

"Our hopes and prayers go to Lute Olson and his family for a swift and full recovery," Arizona director of athletics Jim Livengood said.

"He has meant the world to this university and college basketball for a quarter century. His Hall-of-Fame legacy speaks for itself."

Former Arizona State assistant Russ Pennell has taken over the program on an interim basis following Olson's sudden retirement.

"We miss Lute. The Arizona basketball family will always support him," Pennell said. "Today's news, as odd as this may sound, is comforting only in that he now knows what he's up against as he works to return to good health."