Henry Iba

Henry Iba
Sport(s) Basketball, baseball
Biographical details
Born August 6, 1904(1904-08-06)
Place of birth Easton, Missouri, USA
Died January 15, 1993(1993-01-15) (aged 88)
Head coaching record
Overall 751–340 (.688) (basketball)
90-41 (.687) (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Division I Championship (1945, 1946)
Regional Championships - Final Four (1945, 1946, 1949, 1951)
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1969

Henry Payne "Hank" Iba (August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball and baseball coach.

Contents

Early life

Iba was born and raised in Easton, Missouri. He played college basketball at Westminster College, where he became a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.

Oklahoma State University

After coaching stints at Maryville Teachers' College (now Northwest Missouri State University) and the University of Colorado, Iba came to Oklahoma A&M College in 1934. He stayed at Oklahoma A&M, renamed Oklahoma State University in 1957, for 36 years until his retirement after the 1969–70 season. For most of his tenure at A&M/OSU, he doubled as athletic director. Additionally, Iba coached OSU's baseball team from 1934 to 1941.

Iba's teams were methodical, ball-controlling units that featured weaving patterns and low scoring games. Iba's "swinging gate" defense (a man-to-man with team flow) was applauded by many, and is still effective in today's game. He was known as "the Iron Duke of Defense." Iba is thought to be one of the toughest coaches in NCAA history. He was a very methodical coach, and he always wanted things done perfectly.

Iba's Aggies became the first to win consecutive NCAA titles (1945 and 1946). His 1945–46 NCAA champions were led by Bob Kurland, the game's first seven-foot player. They beat NYU in the 1945 finals and North Carolina in the 1946 finals. He was voted coach of the year in both seasons. His 1945 champions defeated National Invitation Tournament champion, DePaul, and 6'9" center George Mikan in a classic Red Cross Benefit game.

A&M/State teams won 14 Missouri Valley titles and one Big Eight title, and won 655 games in 36 seasons. All told, in 40 years of coaching, he won 767 games—the second-most in college basketball history at the time of his retirement. As OSU's athletic director, he built a program that won 19 national championships in 5 sports (basketball, wrestling, baseball, golf, cross country) over the years. After his retirement, "Mr. Iba" (as he is still called at OSU) frequently showed up at practices, often giving advice to young players.

In 1987, OSU's home arena, Gallagher Hall, was renamed Gallagher-Iba Arena in Iba's honor. A seat in the southeast concourse level of the arena is known as "Mr. Iba's Seat," and it is maintained without a fan having sat in it.

Iba died on January 15, 1993, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Olympic coaching

Iba coached the USA Olympic basketball team in 1964, 1968 and 1972. He is the only coach in USA Olympic basketball history to coach two gold medal winning teams (1964 in Tokyo; 1968 in Mexico City). The 1972 final resulted in a controversial loss to the Soviet Union breaking Team USA's 63-game win streak since basketball was introduced to the Olympics in 1936.

Honors and awards

He was elected to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the Missouri Hall of Fame, the Helms Foundation All-Time Hall of Fame for basketball, National College Basketball Hall of Fame (in 2007), FIBA Hall of Fame (in 2007) and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield, Massachusetts.

Iba was indirectly responsible for a $165 million donation to the Oklahoma State University Athletic Program. In 1951, T. Boone Pickens, a graduate of OSU with a degree in petroleum geology, was looking for a job and asked Iba for help. Iba set the young graduate up with two interviews for high-school basketball coaching jobs and although Pickens didn't end up becoming a coach, the favor Iba did for him was the impetus behind his decision 50 years later to make a $165 million donation to Oklahoma State University's athletic program.[1]

Head coaching record

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) (1930–1933)
1929–30 Northwest Missouri State 31–0
1930–31 Northwest Missouri State 31–6
1931–32 Northwest Missouri State 20–2 NAAU Runner-up
1932–33 Northwest Missouri State 12–7
Northwest Missouri State: 93–15
Colorado Buffaloes (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (1933–1934)
1933–34 Colorado 9–8 7–7
Colorado: 9–8
Oklahoma A&M/State Cowboys (Missouri Valley Conference) (1934–1957)
1934–35 Oklahoma A&M 9–9 5–7 5th
1935–36 Oklahoma A&M 16–8 9–4 T–1st
1936–37 Oklahoma A&M 19–3 11–1 1st
1937–38 Oklahoma A&M 25–3 13–1 1st
1938–39 Oklahoma A&M 19–8 11–3 1st
1939–40 Oklahoma A&M 26–3 12–0 1st NIT Final 4
1940–41 Oklahoma A&M 18–7 8–4 2nd
1941–42 Oklahoma A&M 20–6 9–1 T–1st NCAA 1st Round
1942–43 Oklahoma A&M 14–10 7–3 T–2nd
1943–44 Oklahoma A&M 27–6 NIT Final 4
1944–45 Oklahoma A&M 27–4 NCAA Champion
1945–46 Oklahoma A&M 31–2 12–0 1st NCAA Champion
1946–47 Oklahoma A&M 24–8 8–4 T–2nd
1947–48 Oklahoma A&M 27–4 10–0 1st NCAA 1st Round
1948–49 Oklahoma A&M 23–5 9–1 1st NCAA Runner–up
1949–50 Oklahoma A&M 18–9 7–5 3rd
1950–51 Oklahoma A&M 29–6 12–2 1st NCAA 4th Place
1951–52 Oklahoma A&M 19–8 9–3 2nd
1952–53 Oklahoma A&M 23–7 8–2 1st NCAA Elite 8
1953–54 Oklahoma A&M 24–5 9–1 1st NCAA Elite 8
1954–55 Oklahoma A&M 12–13 5–5 3rd
1955–56 Oklahoma A&M 18–9 8–4 2nd NIT 1st Round
1956–57 Oklahoma A&M 17–9 8–6 3rd
1957–58 Oklahoma State 21–8 NCAA Elite 8
Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big Eight Conference) (1958–1970)
1958–59 Oklahoma State 11–14 5–9 5th
1959–60 Oklahoma State 10–15 4–10 7th
1960–61 Oklahoma State 14–11 8–6 3rd
1961–62 Oklahoma State 14–11 7–7 4th
1962–63 Oklahoma State 16–9 7–7 5th
1963–64 Oklahoma State 15–10 7–7 4th
1964–65 Oklahoma State 20–7 12–2 1st NCAA Elite 8
1965–66 Oklahoma State 4–21 2–12 7th
1966–67 Oklahoma State 7–18 2–12 7th
1967–68 Oklahoma State 10–16 3–11 7th
1968–69 Oklahoma State 12–13 5–9 6th
1969–70 Oklahoma State 14–12 5–9 7th
Oklahoma A&M/State: 653–317 257–152
Total: 755–340

      National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion
      Conference regular season & conference tournament champion       Conference division champion

[2] [3] [4]

Coaching tree

Iba is known for his coaching tree. Coaches in this tree typically use a physical man to man defense and an offense predicated on ball movement and passing. They are linked to Iba through their mentors. Some notable coaches who are included in this tree, either by themselves or by the media:

The Henry Iba Award

The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association. Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the award which is presented in conjunction with the Final Four. This Award is presented at The Oscar Robertson Trophy breakfast the Friday before the Final Four.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=261449
  2. ^ http://www.nwmissouri.edu/sports/mensbball/2012/Game%20Notes/Northwest_Recordbook_11-12.pdf
  3. ^ http://www.cubuffs.com/fls/600/mbb/2011-12_Info_Guide/124-185_season_by_season_results.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=600
  4. ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okst/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/MBB_MEDIAGUIDE_2010-11.pdf

External links