Bear Down Wildcats

It's ironic that he died on the day Arizona announced a new head coach. Larson was a player in the 1940s for Fred Enke. He became an assistant coach, and then succeeded Enke for the 1961-62 season and coached the Wildcats for ten years. While he had an overall losing record, he had some competitive teams and he did have a few moments. In the early to mid 60s, he had a smallish team featuring G Warren Rustand, F Albert Johnson, F Ted Pickett, F Bob Hansen, and G Buddy Doolen. They beat USC a couple of times, along with Cal, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Maryland. In the late 60's, Larson paired Pueblo HS C Eddie Myers with forwards Bill Davis and Mickey Foster, and guards Bill Warner and Walt McKinney. There were some notable close-but-no-cigar losses. These included an overtime 2-point loss at eventual national champion UTEP, a 5-point loss to Elvin Hayes and Houston, and a competitive loss to Dave Cowens and Florida St. Notable wins during that time included games against future ABA star Mel Daniels and New Mexico, and a number of victories over ASU. In the early 70s, the Mormon church had a stance against allowing Black members in senior roles in the church, and civil rights demonstrators appeared outside gyms whenever BYU played, including Bear Down Gym. During the controversy, when Larson mentioned that he was Mormon, it obviously played against him in terms of recruiting Black players and things went rapidly downhill, leading to his dismissal and the hiring of Fred Snowden. He continued to have a job in the athletic department for years, and he became a TV color commentator for Arizona games, where he was known for his malapropisms. Larson kept fairly active until late in his life, and he was known as an avid handball player. He lived to the ripe old age of 94.

Someone posted on Arizona Basketball Chat that Larson used to also teach.

Can you imagine taking a class from Lute? Come to think of it my volleyball PE coach at the UA was the women's basketball coach. We used to play at Bear Down gym.

I heard if you beat him in handball, he would give you an A for the class. If you lost, he would give you a B.

Merkin wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:25 am Someone posted on Arizona Basketball Chat that Larson used to also teach.

Can you imagine taking a class from Lute? Come to think of it my volleyball PE coach at the UA was the women's basketball coach. We used to play at Bear Down gym.

I have some fond memories of intramural hoops games at Bear Down in the 70s. Had a couple of hot shooting games that I wished had happened in high school. But, consistency is one mark of a good ballplayer, and inconsistency is the other guy...me. I remember a high school game where my older sister kept yelling at me from the bleachers: "Stop shooting!" Yeah, I love you, too, Sis. C'est la vie. Later, I took a P.E. basketball class at Bear Down, just for exercise. And the teacher was retired Arizona Athletic Director Dave, Strack, who had also coached Cazzie Russell and Michigan to the national championship game in 1965 against Gail Goodrich & Co. with UCLA. He pretty much just rolled the ball out and let us choose up sides to play and then disappeared; bridge to retirement job. But, he'd occasionally do a little chalk talk with us to make is seem more legit. One time, he pulled a "brand-new" ball out of a dusty box he'd found in the basement. It was like from the 1930s, but in mint condition. Dark brown with smooth soft leather...and LACES! So I said something like "Hey, is that like the ball you used at Michigan?" He gave me this look and then smiled and said "I think you're giving me some shit now." Fortunately, the class was pass/fail. Strack passed away years ago in Prescott. Needless to say, I'm not particularly thrilled with the Ministry of Library Sciences and their take-over of historic Bear Down Gym based purely on its geography between the Science and Main Libraries. It's sacrilege.

Oh BDG how I love and miss it. I didn't do much cool stuff during my time at UA, but I did play in the last intramural game ever played in there.

I knew coach Larson and he was a GREAT man. He knew his basketball. Unfortunate the times and the lack of facilities worked against him. He molded many great young people