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Meet Coach Kruger
The Lon Kruger Story
When UNLV stormed back onto the national scene during the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Lon Kruger cemented his place as the most successful change agent in college basketball history. Five times Kruger has taken over a program in need of rejuvenating and five times – within at least four years each time – his programs have reigned victorious after changing their respective cultures.
A 20-win season in his fourth and final year at Texas-Pan American. He also served as Pan American’s athletic director – the youngest AD in the nation at the time (he was 29 when he was hired) – while also serving as a first-time head coach. The team had won only five games the year prior to Kruger taking over in 1982.
An Elite Eight appearance in his second season at Kansas State and four NCAA Tournament appearances in his four seasons coaching his alma mater. The Wildcats had not qualified for the NCAA Tournament in the four seasons prior to Kruger taking over the program in 1986 and were just a combined one game over .500 in the three previous seasons. His 1987-88 team still holds a tie for the school’s single-season record of 25 wins. The run under Kruger also marks the only time the Kansas State program went to the NCAA Tournament four consecutive seasons.
A Final Four appearance and a then-team record of 29 wins in his fourth season at Florida. The Gators were under investigation by the FBI and NCAA when Kruger took over the program in 1990, with the team coming off of a seven-win season. The unofficial expectations were simple at the time – keep the Gators out of trouble and out of the headlines. In addition to cleaning up the program off the court, his teams went on to win over 100 games in the next six years with four postseason appearances, including a magical run to the Final Four in 1994.
A Big Ten title for Illinois in his second season with the Fighting Illini and three NCAA Tournament appearances in his four seasons. The Fighting Illini had not captured a Big Ten title in 12 years (and only one in 33 years) when Kruger took over in 1996. Illinois had also won just one NCAA Tournament game since 1989 and was under NCAA sanctions when Kruger arrived. In Kruger’s three NCAA Tournament appearances in the four seasons, the Illini advanced to the second round each time.
A Sweet 16 appearance, a Mountain West Conference Tournament title and a 30-win season in just his third season at UNLV in 2007. The once proud Runnin’ Rebels had not won a game in the NCAA Tournament since 1991 (with just two appearances in 15 years) and had not been ranked nationally since 1992. And, despite losing four starters and five seniors from that Sweet 16 team, the 2007-08 squad – in a “rebuilding year†– won 27 games and returned to the NCAA Tournament with another conference title.
The names keeping company with Kruger tell more of the story. Only four coaches ever have led three different schools to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams – Kruger, Rick Pitino, Bill Self and Tubby Smith.
Kruger is also just one of three coaches to lead four different schools to NCAA Tournament wins – Jim Harrick and Eddie Sutton are the others – and he is just one of seven coaches to ever take four different schools to the NCAA Tournament – John Beilein, Lefty Driesell, Harrick, Pitino, Smith and Sutton join him. Kruger and Harrick are also the only two coaches in history to take four schools to the tournament at least twice each.
Of course, the lure of the challenge presented by the NBA led Kruger from the Fighting Illini to the Atlanta Hawks – a period of time when Kruger learned a lot about himself and the business of professional basketball. Kruger was the head coach of the Hawks for two-and-a-half seasons and later served as an assistant with the New York Knicks. After his NBA experience, he returned to the college ranks at UNLV in 2004.
In Kruger’s signature seasons at Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV (to this point), each respective team entered the year with minimal expectations before finishing the season as a team that apparently “came out of nowhere.â€
•His 1987-88 team at Kansas State advanced to the Elite Eight despite being picked to finish fourth in its own conference, the Big 12.
•The 1993-94 Florida Gators were picked eighth in the SEC, but shocked the nation by advancing all the way to the Final Four.
•Kruger’s 1997-98 Illinois squad was picked in the pre-season to finish seventh in the Big Ten before going on to capture a piece of the conference’s regular season title.
•And, his 2006-07 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels were projected to finish sixth in the Mountain West Conference prior to a season which saw them capture the attention of the nation with a Sweet 16 appearance.
This is not to say these teams did not have talent. That would be unfair to say for both the players themselves as well as the coaches who assembled the teams. However, it is fair to say that all of these Kruger teams maximized their potential better than almost any other teams in the country.
And maximizing one’s potential is something Kruger knows about personally. As a player at Kansas State, Kruger won two Big Eight titles as a starting point guard, was named the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year as a junior and senior (1973 & 1974) and was drafted by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. He was later voted the Big Eight Conference’s All-Time “Mr. Hustle.â€
Surprisingly, basketball wasn’t even his best – nor his favorite – sport. He also starred for the Wildcats on the baseball diamond. He had been drafted by the Houston Astros out of high school but later signed with the St. Louis Cardinals who drafted him after college. (To make the story even more amazing, the Dallas Cowboys invited him for a tryout after his senior year in college. Kruger, who had been a star quarterback at Silver Lake High School, did not attend.)
After one season pitching in the minor leagues, he played basketball for a season in Israel before heading to training camp with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. He was the last player cut by the Pistons before the season started. That’s when he turned his attention to coaching.
To view Lon Kruger’s biography (including The Kruger File and his coaching record), visit Lon Kruger Bio at UNLVRebels.com.
The Lon Kruger Story
When UNLV stormed back onto the national scene during the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Lon Kruger cemented his place as the most successful change agent in college basketball history. Five times Kruger has taken over a program in need of rejuvenating and five times – within at least four years each time – his programs have reigned victorious after changing their respective cultures.
A 20-win season in his fourth and final year at Texas-Pan American. He also served as Pan American’s athletic director – the youngest AD in the nation at the time (he was 29 when he was hired) – while also serving as a first-time head coach. The team had won only five games the year prior to Kruger taking over in 1982.
An Elite Eight appearance in his second season at Kansas State and four NCAA Tournament appearances in his four seasons coaching his alma mater. The Wildcats had not qualified for the NCAA Tournament in the four seasons prior to Kruger taking over the program in 1986 and were just a combined one game over .500 in the three previous seasons. His 1987-88 team still holds a tie for the school’s single-season record of 25 wins. The run under Kruger also marks the only time the Kansas State program went to the NCAA Tournament four consecutive seasons.
A Final Four appearance and a then-team record of 29 wins in his fourth season at Florida. The Gators were under investigation by the FBI and NCAA when Kruger took over the program in 1990, with the team coming off of a seven-win season. The unofficial expectations were simple at the time – keep the Gators out of trouble and out of the headlines. In addition to cleaning up the program off the court, his teams went on to win over 100 games in the next six years with four postseason appearances, including a magical run to the Final Four in 1994.
A Big Ten title for Illinois in his second season with the Fighting Illini and three NCAA Tournament appearances in his four seasons. The Fighting Illini had not captured a Big Ten title in 12 years (and only one in 33 years) when Kruger took over in 1996. Illinois had also won just one NCAA Tournament game since 1989 and was under NCAA sanctions when Kruger arrived. In Kruger’s three NCAA Tournament appearances in the four seasons, the Illini advanced to the second round each time.
A Sweet 16 appearance, a Mountain West Conference Tournament title and a 30-win season in just his third season at UNLV in 2007. The once proud Runnin’ Rebels had not won a game in the NCAA Tournament since 1991 (with just two appearances in 15 years) and had not been ranked nationally since 1992. And, despite losing four starters and five seniors from that Sweet 16 team, the 2007-08 squad – in a “rebuilding year†– won 27 games and returned to the NCAA Tournament with another conference title.
The names keeping company with Kruger tell more of the story. Only four coaches ever have led three different schools to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams – Kruger, Rick Pitino, Bill Self and Tubby Smith.
Kruger is also just one of three coaches to lead four different schools to NCAA Tournament wins – Jim Harrick and Eddie Sutton are the others – and he is just one of seven coaches to ever take four different schools to the NCAA Tournament – John Beilein, Lefty Driesell, Harrick, Pitino, Smith and Sutton join him. Kruger and Harrick are also the only two coaches in history to take four schools to the tournament at least twice each.
Of course, the lure of the challenge presented by the NBA led Kruger from the Fighting Illini to the Atlanta Hawks – a period of time when Kruger learned a lot about himself and the business of professional basketball. Kruger was the head coach of the Hawks for two-and-a-half seasons and later served as an assistant with the New York Knicks. After his NBA experience, he returned to the college ranks at UNLV in 2004.
In Kruger’s signature seasons at Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV (to this point), each respective team entered the year with minimal expectations before finishing the season as a team that apparently “came out of nowhere.â€
•His 1987-88 team at Kansas State advanced to the Elite Eight despite being picked to finish fourth in its own conference, the Big 12.
•The 1993-94 Florida Gators were picked eighth in the SEC, but shocked the nation by advancing all the way to the Final Four.
•Kruger’s 1997-98 Illinois squad was picked in the pre-season to finish seventh in the Big Ten before going on to capture a piece of the conference’s regular season title.
•And, his 2006-07 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels were projected to finish sixth in the Mountain West Conference prior to a season which saw them capture the attention of the nation with a Sweet 16 appearance.
This is not to say these teams did not have talent. That would be unfair to say for both the players themselves as well as the coaches who assembled the teams. However, it is fair to say that all of these Kruger teams maximized their potential better than almost any other teams in the country.
And maximizing one’s potential is something Kruger knows about personally. As a player at Kansas State, Kruger won two Big Eight titles as a starting point guard, was named the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year as a junior and senior (1973 & 1974) and was drafted by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. He was later voted the Big Eight Conference’s All-Time “Mr. Hustle.â€
Surprisingly, basketball wasn’t even his best – nor his favorite – sport. He also starred for the Wildcats on the baseball diamond. He had been drafted by the Houston Astros out of high school but later signed with the St. Louis Cardinals who drafted him after college. (To make the story even more amazing, the Dallas Cowboys invited him for a tryout after his senior year in college. Kruger, who had been a star quarterback at Silver Lake High School, did not attend.)
After one season pitching in the minor leagues, he played basketball for a season in Israel before heading to training camp with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. He was the last player cut by the Pistons before the season started. That’s when he turned his attention to coaching.
To view Lon Kruger’s biography (including The Kruger File and his coaching record), visit Lon Kruger Bio at UNLVRebels.com.
