Everything you need to know about Lute Olson's statue, Thursday's unveiling

Hall of Fame basketball coach Lute Olson will be honored on Thursday with a statue outside McKale Center. Here's everything you need to know about Arizona's legendary coach, the statue itself and the ceremony: 

Olson, now 83 years old, led the UA for 24 seasons, posting a 589-187 record. His teams made Final Four in 1988, 1994, 1997 and 2001. The Wildcats won a national championship in 1997. Olson was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Olson's legacy in retirement has been the players he put through to the NBA. 

The $300,000 statue will sit outside the entrance to the Jim Click Hall of Champions on the north side of McKale Center. Olson's statue will face the UA mall. The south side of McKale Center, where a bust of football star John "Button" Salmon once stood, was not considered because of potential arena expansion plans, the UA said.

The UA has been crowdfunding the event for months, and has so far raised $225,000 of the $300,000 needed for the statue. Donations are being accepted here. UA legend Steve Kerr donated his likeness in the form of Original Retro Brand jerseys and t-shirts to help fund the project. 

The statue ceremony marks the 30th anniversary of Arizona's first Final Four appearance. 

The statue created by Omri Amrany, the co-founder of the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany. Along with his wife Julie Rotblatt-Amrany, Omri Armany has help create many of sports' top recent statues. He has immortalized Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson and Gordie Howe, among others. Read more about him here. 

The UA hired Tucson-based architects Line and Space to coordinate the Olson sculpture. The firm, located on Speedway Boulevard, chose the pose and designed an exhibit showing Olson's accolades.  

Olson will be holding the 1997 NCAA Championship trophy, but the rest of the statue remains very much a mystery. Olson said he and wife Kelly received a sneak peak when they went to see “parts” of it in Phoenix recently, but he doesn’t know exactly what the statue will look like.

“I think they’ve done a great job,” Olson said. 

Olson becomes one of a select few basketball coaches to be honored with a statue. A partial list of honorees includes John Wooden (UCLA), Pete Newell (Cal), Jerry Tarkanian (UNLV), Jim Valvano (NC State), Al McGuire (Marquette), Phog Allen (Knasas), Norm Stewart (Missouri) and Johnny Orr (Iowa State).

Most of the coaches are standing in their statues, where Tarkanian — Olson's predecessor at Long Beach State and one of his UA-era rivals — is sitting, his trademark towel in his mouth. 

The statue unveiling begins at 4:30 p.m. Thursday just north of McKale Center. The event is not open to the public. Fans can watch a live-stream here or follow The Wildcaster on Twitter for photos, videos and live updates from the event. 

UA athletic director Dave Heeke, Olson and other invited guests will speak during the ceremony. The event is expected to last until 6 p.m.

Click on any of the attached links below for more on Olson's statue.