Lon Kruger
Lon Kruger was born in Silver Lake, Kansas, United States on August 19th, 1952 and is the Basketball Coach. At the age of 71, Lon Kruger biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is an American college and professional basketball coach who is currently the University of Oklahoma's men's basketball head coach.
Kruger played basketball for Kansas State University.
He has been 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 National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks. Kruger is one of only two coaches (the other being Tubby Smith) to lead five teams in the NCAA Tournament.
His teams have competed in 17 NCAA Tournaments, including 2 Final Fours (1994 with Florida; 2016 with Oklahoma).
Early life
Kruger was born and raised in Silver Lake, Kansas. Kruger, as a point guard, led the Kansas State Wildcats to back-to-back Big Eight championships in 1972 and 1973 under new head coach Jack Hartman. Kruger was named 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.
In the 1974 NBA draft, he was a ninth-round pick for the Atlanta Hawks. Kruger also tried out with the Detroit Pistons and played in Israel. He played in minor league baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals organization for a season and was then invited to training camp with the Dallas Cowboys as a quarterback.
Head coaching career
As basketball coach of the Wildcats, Kruger led K-State to the NCAA tournament in each of his four seasons as head coach and the Elite Eight in 1988 — a team featuring future NBA players Mitch Richmond and Steve Henson — before losing to archrival Kansas Jayhawks, the eventual national champion.
From Kansas State, Kruger moved south to the University of Florida, taking over a program that had limited success not only nationally, but in the Southeastern Conference.
In his six seasons with Florida, Kruger compiled a 104–80 mark. In the process, he led the University of Florida to its first Final Four appearance in 1994.
He was named SEC coach of the year in 1992 and 1994.
Kruger accepted the vacant position at Illinois. While there, he became the only Big Ten coach to successfully sign three consecutive Illinois Mr. Basketball winners, after inking Sergio McClain, Frank Williams, and Brian Cook between 1997 and 1999.
Kruger accepted the job at UNLV in 2004. His son, Kevin, took advantage of a new NCAA rule, called Proposal 2005–54, 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 was repealed for the following season due to what some claimed were the unintended consequence of allowing players with undergraduate diplomas to immediately begin playing for another school without sitting out for any time.
In 2007, Kruger led the Runnin' Rebels to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, which was the team's first trip there since Jerry Tarkanian led it in 1991.
On February 9, 2008, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels beat Colorado State 68–51 at home for Kruger's 400th career win.
On April 1, 2011, Kruger accepted the head coaching position with the Oklahoma Sooners, replacing the fired Jeff Capel. Kruger's new compensation package reportedly exceed $2.2 million annually. Despite his success, he was not immune to criticism, having won just one regular season conference championship in his lengthy college coaching career (Illinois tied for the Big Ten title in 1997–98). However, Kruger has generally enjoyed a positive reputation.
On November 30, 2012, Kruger earned his 500th career head coaching victory as the Sooners beat Northwestern State 69–65 in Norman.
On March 17, 2013, Kruger became the only head coach in Division I history to lead five programs to the NCAA tournament when the Sooners were named a No. 10 seed in the South region. The feat was later matched by Tubby Smith in 2016 when he took Texas Tech to the tournament.
On March 20, 2015, Kruger became the only head coach in Division I history to win an NCAA tournament game with five programs. He is one of four active coaches who have had three teams in the Elite Eight.
Kruger reached his second career Final Four, this time with Oklahoma, in 2016.
On February 25, 2017, Kruger earned his 600th career head coaching victory as the Sooners beat Kansas State 81–51 in Norman.
After 10 seasons at OU, it was announced on March 25, 2021 that he planned to retire.