Lute to step down?

[Russ Smith]

There's a lot of media people who Lute and his family an apology.

EDIT - I do not of course really expect one. Gambo in his usual idiotic ramblings was ripping Lute incessantly last week for being selfish and screwing over the program as was Pat Forde a national writer for ESPN. All anyone had to do was make a couple calls in Tucson to find out the real issue.

And speaking of Gambo, did anyone hear him repeatedly continue to use Denny Crum's departure at Louisville as evidence as to why Arizona is going to struggle post-Lute? That somebody actually pays him to talk about sports is absolutely mindboggling.

I certainly think there will be some folks who owe them an apology but i also think one of the downsides of refusing to answer questions about Lute's healthy publicly is that people that don't know the truth are going to guess incorrectly when something happens.

if people had known Lute had a stroke in the last year they would have reacted quite differently to events of the last 6 months or so. MOst people didn't know and were guessing, does he have Parkinsons, does he have throat cancer(because they said he had recently seen a doctor for laryngitis).

It's unfortunate but in this day and age of the internet rumors spread quickly and when someone who's a public figure(right or wrong Lute is) is not telling people what's going on, it's going to result in situations like this where people jump to the wrong conclusion.

I wish him good health and a happy retirement and I agree he probably won't get nearly as many apologies as he deserves.

 

[Renz]

The villification of Lute by some in the media and the blogosphere etc. is just another reminder of where our society is going in the Internet Age. Everything is "NOW NOW NOW!" "Get Premium and get the news NOW!"

That's why I will never pay to get Premium on Rivals or one of those sites. The day I can't wait 24 or 48 hours to get info about the Cats is the day I kill my modem.

Seriously, it hasn't even been a week since the announcement of Lute retiring and already Lute has been crucified by local and national media, the UA program has been given it's last rites etc.

It's too bad people today can't just slow down and let events unfold at their own pace. Sad really.

 

[Dback Jon]

The stroke certainly does explain some of the erratic behavior that Lute has exhibited over the past year.


The main villian, IMHO, is the very nature of College Basketball recruiting these days. College Coaches are like sharks, looking for any signs of weakness that can be used to bolster their program/tear down a rivals.

If Lute had been forthcoming with health reports, he'd have had a hard time recruiting - the whole "you never know when Lute is going to leave" scenario would be used time and time again.

And of course, Lute would have done the same to another coach as well - it is part of the recruiting game.

 

[Lefty]

There's a lot of media people who Lute and his family an apology.

EDIT - I do not of course really expect one. Gambo in his usual idiotic ramblings was ripping Lute incessantly last week for being selfish and screwing over the program as was Pat Forde a national writer for ESPN. All anyone had to do was make a couple calls in Tucson to find out the real issue.

And speaking of Gambo, did anyone hear him repeatedly continue to use Denny Crum's departure at Louisville as evidence as to why Arizona is going to struggle post-Lute? That somebody actually pays him to talk about sports is absolutely mindboggling.

I heard Gambo rip Lute yesterday. I did not listen today but did he make any kind of apology?

 

[Brian in Mesa]

If you publicly deny it is health related and then it turns out to be health related, why do other people owe you an apology?

Lute should have just been open and honest about it from the start. Why lie? To save recruits?

Instead the lies made people speculate..."A year just to get a divorce?"

Whatever.

I wish Lute well, but don't feel he is owed any apologies (unless Gambo crossed some line or something...).

 

[overseascardfan]

If you publicly deny it is health related and then it turns out to be health related, why do other people owe you an apology?

Lute should have just been open and honest about it from the start. Why lie? To save recruits?

Instead the lies made people speculate..."A year just to get a divorce?"

Whatever.

I wish Lute well, but don't feel he is owed any apologies (unless Gambo crossed some line or something...).

My best wishes go out to Lute and his family, but BIM is right, he should have been honest about his medical condition, nothing bad would've came out of disclosing his medical condition. He should have retired last year so we could have found a replacement in time to reach out to this class and re-assure them.

In all honesty, there is a silver lining. Lute was bound to step down sometime, so now we take our lumps this year, regroup, hire a big name and re-build. Whenever Lute stepped down we were going to lose that recruiting class might as well get it over with.

 

[Renz]

Do your homework guys. The stroke wasn't diagnosed until this week! Lute took his leave of absence last year because of the divorce and depression, which was a result of the stroke.

Lute never lied about anything. When the stroke was diagnosed on Monday, he decided to retire. Get your facts straight before you accuse someone of lying.

The people who ripped Lute for retiring before they knew the facts should apologize, even though it's doubtful that any of them will.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3669415

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Exactly, Lute didnt lie he just found out that he had this.

This is exactly what happened last season and again this season when Lute retired. People make claims and accusations before they understand the facts.

 

[Skkorpion]

I listened to the doctor. He said the MRI showed evidence of a stroke, probably occurring during the last year. That's fact and I buy it.

The rest was opinion spin by the doctor. Who cares anyway? Lute was a great coach and he's gone. You need a new coach and I hope you get a good one.

I had a minor stroke in 2006. Didn't even know it. My left arm lost movement for about 2 mns and I was on the phone and slurred my words for a short time. My roommate had a minor stroke in 2004, transient as well. Both of ours showed up in physicals and we now take aspirin. Big deal.

Happens to lots of people. Blaming a change of behavior on an event so minor nobody noticed is excuse-making revisionist spin.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Im not going to be one of those fans who blames all of Lute's recent decisions and mistakes over the past year on this. Lute hasnt been at the same level we are used to for a few years.

I do agree with the doctor that this is a health concern that should force Lute to retire. The last thing anyone wants to see is their head coach suffer another stroke or related incedent while at practice or coaching a game.

Change of behavior or not, I wish Lute a healthy and speedy recovery and hope he can begin to enjoy retirement, despite it being out of his hands.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Olson added that he wants to reassure everyone that this is not a health scare, but a personal matter that needs his undivided attention.

Okay he didn't knowingly lie, but he was still wrong.

Still no apologies needed.

Just time for him to retire and move on. He needs to spend time with his family (and future wife).

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Happens to lots of people. Blaming a change of behavior on an event so minor nobody noticed is excuse-making revisionist spin.

i'm not downplaying your experience skorp, but it really depends on which portion of the brain was affected by the stroke. the frontal lobe is the section that is responsible for decisionmaking. it's been a scientific fact that addicts and alcoholics have a slightly damaged frontal lobe, and as a result can't distinguish between good and bad decisions that most people find easy. the report was that the exam indicated this was the portion of lute's brain that was affected by the stroke. not necessarily spin.

 

[Lefty]

i'm not downplaying your experience skorp, but it really depends on which portion of the brain was affected by the stroke. the frontal lobe is the section that is responsible for decisionmaking. it's been a scientific fact that addicts and alcoholics have a slightly damaged frontal lobe, and as a result can't distinguish between good and bad decisions that most people find easy. the report was that the exam indicated this was the portion of lute's brain that was affected by the stroke. not necessarily spin.

http://www.ec-online.net/CGE4/rfs2.htm