Henry Iba | ||
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Sport(s) | Basketball, baseball | |
Biographical details | ||
Born | August 6, 1904 | |
Place of birth | Easton, Missouri, USA | |
Died | January 15, 1993 | (aged 88)|
Head coaching record | ||
Overall | 751–340 (.688) (basketball) 90-41 (.687) (baseball) |
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Accomplishments and honors | ||
Championships | ||
NCAA Division I Championship (1945, 1946) Regional Championships - Final Four (1945, 1946, 1949, 1951) |
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Inducted in 1969 |
Henry Payne "Hank" Iba (August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball and baseball coach.
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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.
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.
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.
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]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
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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 |
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 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.
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