can anyone provide context behind Kruger's coaching stints?

[cosmic_sooner]

specifically why did he leave his alma mater KSU back in 89-90? they had some good teams, 4 straight years of NCAAs along with an Elite 8. you'd think that would have been something of a "preferred" job for him and his family.

obviously KSU wasnt and isnt a hoops powerhouse but Florida was THAT much better? did UF money-whip him? if anyone can further explain...

also how about the jump form UF to Illinois...was he fired, "pushed out", etc? obviously UI is a better hoops job than UF which is better than KSU. so are all of those moves (long time ago now!) simply climbing the ladder?

thanks for any insight.

 

[seniorsooner]

From what I have read both Florida and then subsequently Illinois offered him a great deal more money than he was currently being paid at the time.

 

[sdcloud9]

I felt each job he took was a better gig than what he had, though the K-State to Florida gig was a little strange.

After he left the Hawks, he kind of started over at Vegas.

He may be the type of guy that likes new challenges.

 

[Big Old Booger]

specifically why did he leave his alma mater KSU back in 89-90? they had some good teams, 4 straight years of NCAAs along with an Elite 8. you'd think that would have been something of a "preferred" job for him and his family.

obviously KSU wasnt and isnt a hoops powerhouse but Florida was THAT much better? did UF money-whip him? if anyone can further explain...

also how about the jump form UF to Illinois...was he fired, "pushed out", etc? obviously UI is a better hoops job than UF which is better than KSU. so are all of those moves (long time ago now!) simply climbing the ladder?

thanks for any insight.

As Senior said, UF offered him a huge deal to take that job. He took KSU to the elite 8 and then he had 2 or 3 straight NCAA tournament appearance seasons before he headed for UF. At that point in time, Tubbs had OU rolling, KU was rolling with the NC, and Norm had Mizzou hitting on all cylinders as well. KSU was destined to be 4th because at that time they had so many negatives as far as recruiting. Small budget, rural university with no airport or not a big enough airport to bring in kids without having to drive them 2 hours from KC or Wichita, etc. So, when Florida called and offered the big money, I think he saw a chance to take a no-name program to greatness and Florida with the population in the state and it's proximity to the coast, as well as their budget being in the SEC, offered a chance to do some things that KSU was never going to do.

He took Florida to the final 4 and a few years later, Illinois called. Illinois at the time was coming off a few losing seasons, but that program was a top 2 or 3 program in the Big 10 behind Indiana and maybe Michigan (MSU was down a bit; this was just before Izzo got it going with Cleaves, etc.). At Illinois he had it going as well. He was the first Big 10 coach EVER to sign the Illinois POY 3 straight years and the team Self inherited that went to the Elite 8 was all Kruger recruits. Self should have taken that team to the Final 4, they were loaded, but he made some coaching mistakes down the stretch. That was an NC caliber team, IMO.

Then the Atlanta Hawks dumped a dumptruck of money in his lap and who wouldn't take that? That was really his only failure in coaching, so when he was fired and UNLV offered a chance to get back into college ball, he took it.

 

[Max Power]

As Senior said, UF offered him a huge deal to take that job. He took KSU to the elite 8 and then he had 2 or 3 straight NCAA tournament appearance seasons before he headed for UF. At that point in time, Tubbs had OU rolling, KU was rolling with the NC, and Norm had Mizzou hitting on all cylinders as well. KSU was destined to be 4th because at that time they had so many negatives as far as recruiting. Small budget, rural university with no airport or not a big enough airport to bring in kids without having to drive them 2 hours from KC or Wichita, etc. So, when Florida called and offered the big money, I think he saw a chance to take a no-name program to greatness and Florida with the population in the state and it's proximity to the coast, as well as their budget being in the SEC, offered a chance to do some things that KSU was never going to do.

He took Florida to the final 4 and a few years later, Illinois called. Illinois at the time was coming off a few losing seasons, but that program was a top 2 or 3 program in the Big 10 behind Indiana and maybe Michigan (MSU was down a bit; this was just before Izzo got it going with Cleaves, etc.). At Illinois he had it going as well. He was the first Big 10 coach EVER to sign the Illinois POY 3 straight years and the team Self inherited that went to the Elite 8 was all Kruger recruits. Self should have taken that team to the Final 4, they were loaded, but he made some coaching mistakes down the stretch. That was an NC caliber team, IMO.

Then the Atlanta Hawks dumped a dumptruck of money in his lap and who wouldn't take that? That was really his only failure in coaching, so when he was fired and UNLV offered a chance to get back into college ball, he took it.

queue the he only here for the money and wont care about the job comments

 

[seniorsooner]

I think the trolls that were making those comments have scattered a bit.

 

[Max Power]

I think the trolls that were making those comments have scattered a bit.

god i hope so

 

[Big Old Booger]

queue the he only here for the money and wont care about the job comments

He said he would be lying if he said the money didn't have anything to do with it. Who cares anyway? At least he's here and he's committed to the program. He said it would be his last stop, and I don't see that changing. I would bet, if it weren't for the big mansion he just built in LV it wouldn't have taken that amount of money to get him here.

Don't forget his daughter and her family also live in Las Vegas. It's hard to leave kids and grandkids.

I also think he came because he believes he can win an NC at Oklahoma. I think he believes this his best chance since he was at Illinois. I also think that's why he left KSU because he thought he could never win one there.

 

[mattham4]

Johnny Orr also had things rolling at Iowa State when Kruger left KSU

 

[cosmic_sooner]

thanks guys. just wondering mainly about the KSU-UF move. you just dont see many guys leaving their alma mater, particularly if they're successful. though when your alma mater is Kansas State...you do have to reconsider things!

 

[Mr.B!!!]

I think that is a great background analysis. All very good reasons to leave jobs, and I believe him when he says that he thinks he can win a NC here, just looking at him, I see about 8-10 years of solid coaching left in the tank.

 

[cosmic_sooner]

I think that is a great background analysis. All very good reasons to leave jobs, and I believe him when he says that he thinks he can win a NC here, just looking at him, I see about 8-10 years of solid coaching left in the tank.

agree. i cant speculate on the years. but i think we have a solid winner. i dont necessarily expect to win the Big 12 each year but i want us to be hard to play against like many of Sampson's teams. sure the conference tourney's are half-hearted to some, i still loved going in there and winning the damn thing as a relative underdog.

i think Kruger will bring this to OU.

 

[Big Old Booger]

agree. i cant speculate on the years. but i think we have a solid winner. i dont necessarily expect to win the Big 12 each year but i want us to be hard to play against like many of Sampson's teams. sure the conference tourney's are half-hearted to some, i still loved going in there and winning the damn thing as a relative underdog.

i think Kruger will bring this to OU.

I can assure you that not many times will we lose when we were outcoached. Now, we will get out-talented when we play KU and possibly Texas, but Kruger can coach with the best of them.

As far as X's and O's are concerned, I would rate him at the top of the conference with Bill Self.

 

[aliasou]

I am not familiar with his situation. What happened his last year at Florida and why was he offered the job at Illinois after a losing season? Just a question on his history, I am not questioning him as a coach.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I am not familiar with his situation. What happened his last year at Florida and why was he offered the job at Illinois after a losing season? Just a question on his history, I am not questioning him as a coach.

Honestly, I don't know what happened his last year at Florida. I wonder if he didn't have a very young team, kind of like what Sampson had in 2004.

He was offered the job at Illinois based on what he did at Florida and KSU.

 

[seniorsooner]

For most of the first half-century in the SEC, the Gators were not a factor. They only finished higher than fourth twice from 1932-33 to 1979-80. This was partly because the team didn't have a full-time head coach until 1951; for most of that time the post was filled by assistant football coaches or volunteers from the physical education department. Things didn't really turn around until Norm Sloan arrived in Gainesville after a successful 14-year tenure at North Carolina State. Sloan had previously coached the Gators from 1960 to 1966. Under Sloan, the Gators made the National Invitation Tournament three years in a row from 1984 to 1986—the first postseason appearances in school history. In 1987, Vernon Maxwell led the team to the school's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, advancing all the way to the Sweet 16. Sloan coached the team to the tournament again the following two years, winning the school's first-ever SEC regular season title in 1989. in the 1988–1989 season. After a drug scandal involving Maxwell and an NCAA investigation for various rules violations, Sloan resigned and the NCAA placed the program on two years' probation. Former Tennessee coach Don DeVoe led the team as interim coach during the 1989–1990 season.

Lon Kruger became the head coach before the 1990–1991 season. Despite the probation he inherited, Kruger slowly brought the team to increased success and reached the NIT final four in his second year as coach. In 1993–1994, the pieces fell into place for Florida to have their best season ever at that time.[1] Behind Andrew DeClercq and Dametri Hill, the Gators went to their first Final Four following a dramatic victory over UConn where Donyell Marshall missed two free throws with no time on the clock to force overtime, where the Gators eventually prevailed.[1] They lost to Duke in the national semifinal, 70–65.[1] The next year, they returned to the NCAA tournament, but were eliminated in the first round. Kruger's final season in 1995–1996 resulted in a losing record, and he left to coach at Illinois.

 

[Dave4OU]

I am just saying ;-)

 

[coolm]

OMG quit using that stupid stat about LK's recruiting "prowess" at Illinois. 2 of those kids were the Illinois coach's to lose. All he had to do was say "Hi" and "Sign here" without making them angry...same as that Peoria inroad that was built.

 

[Big Old Booger]

OMG quit using that stupid stat about LK's recruiting "prowess" at Illinois. 2 of those kids were the Illinois coach's to lose. All he had to do was say "Hi" and "Sign here" without making them angry...same as that Peoria inroad that was built.

Well, if it was so easy, why hadn't it happened before? He wasn't just the first Illinois coach, but the first Big 10 coach.

Complain about it all you want, but that is impressive.

Bob Knight never did it.
Gene Keady never did it.
Lou Henson never did it.
Tom Izzo never did it.
Jud Heathcote never did it.
Lute Olsen never did it.
Tom Davis never did it.
Bill Frieder never did it.
Steve Fisher never did it.

Need I go on?

 

[coolm]

Well, if it was so easy, why hadn't it happened before? He wasn't just the first Illinois coach, but the first Big 10 coach.

Complain about it all you want, but that is impressive.

Bob Knight never did it.
Gene Keady never did it.
Lou Henson never did it.
Tom Izzo never did it.
Jud Heathcote never did it.
Lute Olsen never did it.
Tom Davis never did it.
Bill Frieder never did it.
Steve Fisher never did it.

Need I go on?

no you don't hafta go on because it had nothing to do with LK's recruiting prowess. it was just circumstance.

there was a solar eclipse while LK was coach. was his recruiting responsible for that too? I mean...it DID happen while he was there....not while the others were...so by your logic it must be him right?