Lute Olson Says David Salinas Involvement Came After Retirement

In a statement released Thursday, Lute Olson said that his investments with David Salinas came after he had retired from coaching. Olson reportedly invested $1.17 million with the Houston AAU coach and investment manager who committed suicide on Sunday. Salinas was under investigation by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for essentially establishing a ponzi scheme that lost millions for investors.

Salinas' investments have raised the ire of the NCAA due to the nearly $8 million he took from major current and former college basketball head coaches, with many questioning whether coaches also earned undue influence over athletes on Salinas' AAU squads as part of their investment. Jawann McClellan, a former Wildcat under Olson who played for Salinas as a high schooler has gone on record to say that the relationship between Olson and Salinas was not a factor in his recruitment. 

There has been no confirmation that the NCAA has officially launched an investigation into Salinas' dealings with college coaches. Other coaches linked to Salinas include Texas Tech's Billy Gillispie, Nebraska's Doc Sadler, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy coach Danny Nee, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi coach Willis Wilson, Gonzaga assistant Ray Giacoletti, Augustana College's Grey Giovanine and former Houston and Nevada coach Pat Foster.

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