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Recently retired Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson had an initially undiagnosed stroke, probably within the past year, his doctor said Tuesday.

A Magnetic Resonance Imaging exam or brain scan taken Monday discovered the stroke, said Olson's personal physician, Steven D. Knope. It hit the frontal lobe but only affected some decision-making functions and not motor skills, Knope said.

Olson, 74, also has suffered from atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm, for eight years. Although that condition itself has not been dangerous enough to take Olson off the job, Knope said, it could have produced a blood clot that prompted the stroke. Strokes occur when blood fails to reach a portion of the brain.

Knope said he advised Olson to retire before last week "to take care of health concerns," saying he noticed Olson's changes in behavior and trouble handling his increasing workload as the basketball season drew near.

"I think everyone is capable of understanding an illness like a stroke simply made (coaching) medically impossible," Knope said. "And for that reason, we obviously had no choice but to advise him to step down."

However, the MRI that confirmed the stroke was not taken until four days after Olson retired.

About 780,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year, according to the American Stroke Association. Olson's case is not unusual, according to James C. Grotta, the chairman of the neurology department at the University of Texas medical school in Houston.

Grotta estimates between 20 percent and 25 percent of people in Olson's age group likely have a lesion on their brains that was caused by a stroke.

Although obvious signs of a stroke include partial paralysis, weakness, slurred speech or impaired vision, strokes in the frontal lobe can be "more subtle," because it takes longer to detect a personality change, said Robert P. Goldfarb, a consultant in neurosurgery for Western Neurosurgery LTD and Carondelet Neurological Institute.

Goldfarb, speaking generally and not about Olson's particular case, said frontal lobe stroke patients often exhibit behavioral changes.

"Somebody who's usually pretty logical might have poor judgment or poor insight into certain things," he said. "They may be easily distracted or have some impulsive type of behavior."

Grotta said the magnitude of the personality change makes it easier to detect a problem.

"If it gets to the point where it's interfering with one's social interactions and it hadn't before, that's more than just a little personality change," he said

After 24 seasons as UA men's basketball coach, Olson cited "stress and anxiety" after taking a season-long leave of absence last season. During that time, he went through a divorce with Christine Olson, but Knope said that did not cause the stroke. It was the other way around, he indicated.

"He had a stroke in the frontal part of his brain that has resulted in some severe depression, as well as some changes in judgment that, in retrospect, probably didn't appear for several months," Knope said.

Olson said during his preseason media day Oct. 21 that he felt more "energized" than at this time last season, but he retired two days later. On Sunday, Knope said, Olson took a "mental status exam," a series of questions that test how well the brain is working.

He scored almost perfectly, Knope said.

"That underscores the complexity of this kind of a stroke," Knope said. "You can have seemingly normal function in many areas, yet when you look at the pressures imposed by coaching a basketball team, there's something called executive function and being able to put together pieces. It became clear he was having difficulty with that. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it."

Olson did not attend Tuesday's news conference, and Knope said the three family members who did — daughters Jody Brase and Christi Snyder and grandson Matt Brase — would not comment.

Reached at her Tucson home, Christine Olson said she did not understand why Knope did not order an MRI before this week, saying she told divorce attorneys throughout their proceedings that the divorce should not happen because Lute Olson had changed.

"I contended all along that the man I married was not the same," Christine Olson said. "Now it explains what happened, and it's very unfortunate."

Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Kevin O'Neill, who coached the Wildcats last season in Olson's absence, declined to comment when told of Knope's statements.

Eight days after Olson returned to work March 24, he held a news conference in which he announced O'Neill would not return to the staff.

Knope issued a statement that day saying Olson had been cleared to resume coaching and was in "excellent health." He said Tuesday he still believed that was the case at the time, based on what he saw, although the stroke may have occurred before then.

"At that point, he had recovered from depression, he had discontinued the medication, and he was going great," Knope said. "He was on Cloud Nine. He was telling me how excited he was to get back to basketball. He was telling me (the problem) was never basketball, that, 'I love the game. I want to get back.'"

However, Knope acknowledged Tuesday that Olson was showing signs of anger last spring: Olson hired an all-new staff. Assistant Josh Pastner left for the University of Memphis, and Miles Simon left for what Olson indicated was a UA administrative decision. Olson went on several radio shows to defend his recent moves and marital issues.

"I believe some of those personality changes were out of character," Knope said. "I had very little contact with him this summer. I saw his (April 1) press conference and noticed that he was a little out of character.

"What I'm truly hoping for now is that the team and community rally around this now that they understand. … I hope everyone remembers what he's done for the community."

Knope's statements were news to several Wildcat players, five of whom said Tuesday afternoon they had no idea Olson had a stroke and had not noticed him behaving differently. The players have not met with Olson in person since before his retirement.

"I didn't notice anything," sophomore wing Zane Johnson said.

Freshman Jeff Withey said, "I just saw him at practices, and he seemed OK."

Guard David Bagga, one of two Wildcat seniors, said he has not noticed any changes in Olson since his return last spring.

"I hope he's OK," Bagga added.

UA athletic director Jim Livengood declined to say whether Olson appeared different at any point in recent years, because of employee privacy policy.

However, Livengood said he was impressed with how clear Olson was during his annual media day last Tuesday, and that he did not know Olson was retiring until Thursday afternoon.

"Thoughts and prayers go out to Lute and his family for an incredibly speedy recovery, and the quality of life he deserves," Livengood said.

Interim head coach Russ Pennell said, "We miss Lute," through a UA statement.

"The Arizona basketball family will always support him," Pennell said. "Today's news, as odd as this may sound, is comforting only in that he now knows what he's up against as he works to return to good health."

Knope said he was hopeful Olson would have a full recovery, noting how determined he was to stay on the job eight years ago, when he first had an issue with atrial fibrillation.

"We called in medications when he was on the road, he went and coached the Seattle game, came back and was treated here," Knope said.

That same determination, Knope said, prompted Olson to attempt a return this season, even though he was having health issues. Olson held postseason practices with the Wildcats in April, recruited during the summer and began holding short workouts shortly after school began in August. But Knope said his concerns did not mount until full practices began Oct.17.

"I think it really was the volume of work as (the season) revved up," Knope said. "Here's a guy who is do-or-die: 'Atrial fibrillation? Give me a pill. I gotta coach.' That's the beauty of Lute Olson. I think his plan was to go ahead, damn the torpedos."