| Lon Kruger | |
|---|---|
| Sport(s) | Basketball |
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Oklahoma |
| Record | 0–0 (—) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | August 19, 1952 |
| Place of birth | Silver Lake, Kansas |
| Playing career | |
| 1971–1974 | Kansas State |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1976–1977 1977–1978 1979–1982 1982–1986 1986–1990 1990–1996 1996–2000 2000–2003 2003–2004 2004–2011 2011–present |
Pittsburg State (Asst.) Kansas State (Asst.) Kansas State (Asst.) Texas–Pan American Kansas State Florida Illinois Atlanta Hawks New York Knicks (Asst.) UNLV Oklahoma |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 479–304 (.612) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| MWC Tournament Championship (2007, 2008) Big 10 Regular Season Championship (1998) |
|
| Awards | |
| SEC Coach of the Year (1992, 1994) MWC Coach of the Year (2008) |
|
Lon Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is an American college and professional basketball coach who is currently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State University. He has served as the head coach of the University of Texas–Pan American, Kansas State, the University of Florida, the University of Illinois, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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Lon Kruger was born in Silver Lake, Kansas. As a player, Kruger led Kansas State University to back-to-back Big Eight championships in 1972 and 1973 under coach Jack Hartman. Kruger was named the Big Eight Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974, after being named the Big Eight Sophomore of the Year in 1972. He was also a shortstop on the Kansas State baseball team. As coach of the Wildcats, he led K-State to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons as head coach and the Elite 8 in 1988 before losing to the arch-rival Kansas Jayhawks, the eventual national champion.
Prior to accepting the head coaching position at UNLV in 2004, Kruger was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was as head coach of the Hawks that Kruger guaranteed season-ticket holders that the Hawks would make the playoffs or get a $125 refund. The Hawks failed to make the playoffs and Kruger was fired midway through the season. Kruger also held head coaching positions in collegiate basketball at the University of Texas-Pan American (1982–1986), Kansas State University (1986–1990), the University of Florida (1990–1996), and the University of Illinois (1996–2000). While at Illinois, he became the only Big Ten coach to successfully sign three consecutive Illinois Mr. Basketball winners, after inking Sergio McClain, Frankie Williams, and Brian Cook between 1997 and 1999. Kruger is one of five coaches to take four different teams to the men's NCAA basketball tournament. In the process, he led the University of Florida to its first-ever Final Four appearance (1994).
Kruger was an assistant coach under Rudy Tomjanovich for the US national team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.[1]
His son, Kevin, took advantage of a new NCAA rule, called Proposal 2005-54,[2] before the 2006–2007 season to transfer from Arizona State and immediately play for his father at UNLV without sitting out one year. The controversial rule has been repealed for the next season due to the "unintended consequences" of allowing players with undergraduate diplomas to immediately begin playing for another school without sitting out for any time.[3]
In 2007, his team made the Sweet Sixteen before falling to Oregon. They finished fourteenth in the polls that year, and made the second round the following year.
On February 9, 2008, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels beat Colorado State 68–51 at home, for his 400th career win.
On April 1, 2011, sources confirmed that Kruger had accepted the head coaching position with the Oklahoma Sooners, replacing the fired Jeff Capel.[4][5][6] Kruger's new Oklahoma Sooners compensation package purportedly exceeds $2.2 million annually.[6] Despite his success, he has not been immune to criticism.[7][8] Fans of opposing teams point out that Kruger has won just one regular season conference championship in his 25 years of college coaching (Illinois tied for the Big 10 title in 1997-98). Plus the 13 times that his teams have made the NCAA tournament, they have lost in the 1st or 2nd round 10 times. Also, some critics mention his failed venture in the NBA. However, Kruger generally enjoys a positive reputation overall.[9]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas–Pan American Broncs (Independent) (1982–1986) | |||||||||
| 1982–83 | Pan–American | 7–21 | |||||||
| 1983–84 | Pan–American | 13–14 | |||||||
| 1984–85 | Pan–American | 12–16 | |||||||
| 1985–86 | Pan–American | 20–8 | |||||||
| Pan–American: | 52–59 (.469) | ||||||||
| Kansas State Wildcats (Big Eight Conference) (1986–1990) | |||||||||
| 1986–87 | Kansas State | 20–11 | 8–6 | 4th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1987–88 | Kansas State | 25–9 | 11–3 | 2nd | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 1988–89 | Kansas State | 19–11 | 8–6 | 3rd | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 1989–90 | Kansas State | 17–15 | 7–7 | 4th | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| Kansas State: | 81–46[10] (0.638) | 34–22 (.607) | |||||||
| Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference) (1990–1996) | |||||||||
| 1990–91 | Florida | 11–17 | 7–11 | 6th | |||||
| 1991–92 | Florida | 19–14 | 9–7 | 2nd (East) | NIT Semifinals | ||||
| 1992–93 | Florida | 16–12 | 9–7 | 3rd (East) | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| 1993–94 | Florida | 29–8 | 12–4 | T–1st (East) | NCAA Final Four | ||||
| 1994–95 | Florida | 17–13 | 8–8 | 3rd (East) | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Florida | 12–16 | 6–10 | 5th (East) | |||||
| Florida: | 104–80 (.565) | 51–47 (.520) | |||||||
| Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (1996–2000) | |||||||||
| 1996–97 | Illinois | 22–10 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Illinois | 23–10 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1998–99 | Illinois | 14–18 | 3–13 | 11th | |||||
| 1999–00 | Illinois | 22–10 | 11–5 | 5th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| Illinois: | 81–48 (.628) | 38–28 (.576) | |||||||
| UNLV Runnin' Rebels (Mountain West Conference) (2004–2011) | |||||||||
| 2004–05 | UNLV | 17–14 | 7–7 | 4th | NIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 2005–06 | UNLV | 17–13 | 10–6 | 4th | |||||
| 2006–07 | UNLV | 30–7 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2007–08 | UNLV | 27–8 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 2008–09 | UNLV | 21–11 | 9–7 | 5th | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| 2009–10 | UNLV | 25–9 | 11–5 | T–3rd | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | UNLV | 24–9 | 11–5 | 3rd | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| UNLV: | 161–71 (.694) | 72–38 (.655) | |||||||
| Oklahoma Sooners (Big 12 Conference) (2011–present) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | Oklahoma | 9-1 | |||||||
| Oklahoma: | 9–1 (.900) | 0–0 (.000) | |||||||
| Total: | 488–304 (.612) | ||||||||
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National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
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