Harold Olsen was an American basketball coach and player who had a successful career in the 1940s. He was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1903 and attended the University of Chicago, where he played basketball and was a member of the school’s first national championship team in 1932. After college, Olsen went on to coach at the University of Iowa, where he led the Hawkeyes to three Big Ten titles and two NCAA Final Four appearances.

Olsen was also a successful professional basketball coach, leading the Chicago Bruins of the National Basketball League (NBL) to two championships in 1947 and 1948. He was also the first coach of the Minneapolis Lakers, who went on to become one of the most successful teams in NBA history. Olsen was known for his innovative coaching style, which focused on team play and defense. He was also one of the first coaches to use the full-court press, which became a staple of the game.

Olsen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959 and was named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in 1996. He was also the first coach to win both an NBL and NBA championship. Olsen’s career was marked by success and innovation, and he is remembered as one of the greatest coaches in basketball history.

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