THE LUTE OLSON AWARD

The 2023-24 Lute Olson Mid-Season Watch List

Jan. 10, 2024

BOSTON, MA -- The 2023-24 Lute Olson mid-season Watch List was announced on Wednesday. 

The award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.

Olson is one of just 25 head coaches in NCAA history to win 700 or more games (all divisions) and ranks ninth on the Division I career victories list. He finished with a winning percentage of .731 and is the all-time winningest coach in Arizona history with 587-190 record (.755). He was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times. 

Olson also guided Arizona to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, and is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to record 29 or more 20-win seasons.

In 2002, Olson was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Coach Olson passed away on August 27, 2020.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

The 2024 award will be announced in Phoenix, AZ, site of the men’s Division I Basketball Championship.


LUTE OLSON AWARD MID-SEASON WATCH LIST

Johni Broome

6-10

Auburn

L.J. Cryer

6-1

Houston

RJ Davis

6-0

North Carolina

Hunter Dickinson

7-2

Kansas

Zach Edey

7-4

Purdue

Terrence Edwards Jr.

6-6

James Madison

Kyle Filipowski

7-0

Duke

Tyon Grant-Foster

6-7

Grand Canyon

PJ Hall

6-10

Clemson

Meechie Johnson

6-2

South Carolina

Xavier Johnson

6-1

Southern Illinois

David Jones

6-6

Memphis

Jaedon LeDee

6-9

San Diego State

Ryan Kalkbrenner

7-1

Creighton

Dalton Knecht

6-6

Tennessee

Tyler Kolek

6-3

Marquette

Xaivian Lee

6-3

Princeton

Caleb Love

6-4

Arizona

Kevin McCullar

6-7

Kansas

Tristen Newton

6-5

UConn

Great Osobor

6-8

Utah State

Jahvon Quinerly

6-1

Memphis

Antonio Reeves

6-6

Kentucky

Baylor Scheierman

6-7

Creighton

Jamal Shead

6-1

Houston

Isaiah Stevens

6-0

Colorado State

AJ Storr

6-7

Wisconsin

Wade Taylor IV

6-0

Texas A&M

Ja'Kobe Walter

6-5

Baylor

Shahada Wells

6-0

McNeese

 

The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I player.
 
The award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.
 
Olson is one of just 25 head coaches in NCAA history to win 700 or more games (all divisions) and ranks ninth on the Division I career victories list. He finished with a winning percentage of .731 and is the all-time winningest coach in Arizona history with 587-190 record (.755). He was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times. Olson also guided Arizona to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, and is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to record 29 or more 20-win seasons.
 
In 2002, Olson was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
The recipient of the 2023-24 award will be announced in April, in Phoenix, AZ site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

The Lute Olson award is presented annually to the top division I player as voted on by the award committee. 
 
The 10-member voting committee consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
 
The award is presented annually at the site of the men's Division I NCAA basketball championship. 

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