After the Arizona men’s basketball program returned to the Final Four for the first time in 25 years, Tucson artist Danny Martin created a striking black-and-white mural honoring the two coaches most closely associated with that success: Lute Olson and Tommy Lloyd. The 20-by-50-foot piece sits along Fifth Avenue at Seventh Street, a prominent wall commissioned by Corbett Brewing that faces a busy pickleball facility and bar near Fourth Avenue.
The mural was sparked by a moment following Arizona’s win over Purdue, when coach Tommy Lloyd publicly acknowledged the legacy of Lute Olson, saying there was “a good looking guy with white hair looking down on us right now that’s happy.” That tribute resonated with Martin, who set out to make a public celebration of both the present coach and the lore that preceded him.
Martin used an earlier graphic he created of Olson — a suited figure set against mountains and cacti, originally made after Olson’s 2020 death — for the left side of the mural. He believes this is one of the only public murals in Tucson devoted to Olson, and wanted to pair that image with a contemporary portrait of Lloyd to show continuity in Arizona basketball’s history. Lloyd’s likeness comes from a photograph Martin took of him at a UA football game, sunglasses on and chatting with Rob Gronkowski, an image Martin says captures Lloyd’s relaxed, supportive energy.
Working with just two small brushes, black paint and the white wall as a canvas, Martin completed the mural over roughly a week. His high-contrast, graphic approach — influenced by skateboard art, punk flyers and T-shirt designs — is meant to be bold from a distance and photogenic up close. He describes his work as “a T‑shirt graphic on a wall,” an aesthetic that appears across the hundreds of murals he has painted around Tucson.
Martin, a University of Arizona alum who moved to Tucson from Birmingham about a quarter-century ago, says the university played a pivotal role in his career. Seeing the program’s highs and lows over the decades has deepened his connection to UA athletics, and this piece felt like a way to give back to the community that supported him. Martin also notes that Tucson has a thriving mural scene, with many artists contributing to the city’s visual landscape.
The mural’s location, directly across from Corbett Brewing, offers an “immaculate view” for passersby and patrons alike, according to Martin. Beyond celebrating two coaches, the work aims to reflect local pride, continuity, and the positive energy that UA basketball brings to the Tucson community.
