Hilariously Awesome stat about Lon Kruger

[NickZepp]

Got this from another board which I will not credit at this time.

Lon Kruger has more NCAA wins this year than Travis Ford has in 15 years of coaching

Edit spellchecker changed stat to star in the title.

 

[dahldennsull]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

saw that, but didnt' think the timing was the best, considering these are only his 1st and 2nd postseason wins EVER while at OU (including the Big 12 tourney)

 

[skyvue]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

saw that, but didnt' think the timing was the best, considering these are only his 1st and 2nd postseason wins EVER while at OU (including the Big 12 tourney)

Wrong. We won a game in the Big 12 tourney this year.

And throwing in the Big 12 tourney doesn't apply, anyway; that wasn't what the OP was talking about.

 

[usedtobe1]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

Interesting factoid. I can't believe Ford doesn't have 2 NCAA tourney wins in 15 years. Wow.

Is he under any heat? I know he has a sweetheart contract that makes it difficult to get rid of him.

 

[dahldennsull]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

Wrong. We won a game in the Big 12 tourney this year.

And throwing in the Big 12 tourney doesn't apply, anyway; that wasn't what the OP was talking about.

True, but it does back up my point. I mean Kruger didn't even have Big 12 tourney wins before this year, let alone NCAA wins.

And I agree it is a good stat, especially you consider Ford has been there so much longer too, just felt a little stones in a glass house esque.

 

[NickZepp]

OU has been building back from an abyss. Travis Ford didn't come in with nothing like Kruger did. Travis Ford came in with NBA talent on his roster.

everybody got to deviate from the norm

 

[scrybe]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

saw that, but didnt' think the timing was the best, considering these are only his 1st and 2nd postseason wins EVER while at OU (including the Big 12 tourney)

EVER? Like he's been coaching at OU for the past 20 years? LOL!!!

 

[soonernutt]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

saw that, but didnt' think the timing was the best, considering these are only his 1st and 2nd postseason wins EVER while at OU (including the Big 12 tourney)

4 years:
15 wins
20 wins / NCAA first round exit
23 wins / NCAA first round exit
24 wins / Sweet 16 and counting

Taking a program in trouble, building a foundation, and improving year over year. This is what LK does. It's kind of his thing. :woot

 

[soonernutt]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

Interesting factoid. I can't believe Ford doesn't have 2 NCAA tourney wins in 15 years. Wow.

Is he under any heat? I know he has a sweetheart contract that makes it difficult to get rid of him.

I don't buy that crap for one minute. It's bad business to keep a bad coach just because you don't want to pay a buyout. An empty arena and no excitement around the program costs a lot more than that.

If Holder and TBP truly believed that Travis Ford isn't the guy, he'd be gone. So I'm not allowing them that excuse. The unfavorable contract is a red herring, IMO.

The bigger story, IMO, is whether oSu is really a basketball school that can attract (and keep) a quality coach. Here are their post-Iba stabs at it.

Aubrey 1970-73: 18-60
Strong 1973-77: 35-70
Kiilingsworth 1977-79: 22-31
Hansen 1979-86: 107-89 / One NCAA appearance
Hamilton 1986-1990: 56-63
E Sutton 1990-2006: 386-151 / 13 NCAA appearances / 2 Final 4s / 1 Elite 8 / 3 Sweet 16s
S Sutton 2006-2008: 39-29
Ford 2008-2015: 52-50 / 5 NCAA appearances

They only got Eddie Sutton because nobody else would touch him with a ten-foot pole with all the Kentucky monkey business. It's just like Bob Knight at Tech. Neither Sutton nor Knight were going to ever get another elite HC job, so that opened up oSu and Tech to a quality of coach that wouldn't normally be available to programs of their caliber. Nobody else oSu has hired had anything remotely similar to Sutton's success. To be honest, Ford has done far better than the others. So the question is, if they fire him, is there any chance they stumble onto the next Eddie Sutton?

Truth is, if they did hire a guy who had that kind of success, he'd probably end up leaving for one of the true blue-blood programs anyway. Sutton didn't have that option, and at his age, probably was happy to finish up in Stillwater.

So maybe TBP and Holder are looking at it like that. Hire a new guy, three things can happen. 1 - He sucks; 2 - He's marginally successful, just like Ford; 3 - He's very successful, leaves for a better job, and embarrasses a program with an over-inflated sense of self-worth.

Maybe letting Ford grow into a better coach is their answer. Because if they thought they could do better, he'd already be gone.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Got this from another board which I will not credit at this time.

Lon Kruger has more NCAA wins this year than Travis Ford has in 15 years of coaching

Has someone verified this factoid? That is almost unbelievable.

EDIT: It is true.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Ford#Head_coaching_record

 

[NickZepp]

http://www.orangepower.com/threads/ou-to-the-sweet-16.202223/

Awesome butt hurt in this thread.

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

 

[perryj74]

soonernutt nails it here. Their program isn't what they and the state media want you to believe it is. Travis Ford is the 3rd best coach in their program's history.

 

[NickZepp]

I don't buy that crap for one minute. It's bad business to keep a bad coach just because you don't want to pay a buyout. An empty arena and no excitement around the program costs a lot more than that.

If Holder and TBP truly believed that Travis Ford isn't the guy, he'd be gone. So I'm not allowing them that excuse. The unfavorable contract is a red herring, IMO.

The bigger story, IMO, is whether oSu is really a basketball school that can attract (and keep) a quality coach. Here are their post-Iba stabs at it.

Aubrey 1970-73: 18-60
Strong 1973-77: 35-70
Kiilingsworth 1977-79: 22-31
Hansen 1979-86: 107-89 / One NCAA appearance
Hamilton 1986-1990: 56-63
E Sutton 1990-2006: 386-151 / 13 NCAA appearances / 2 Final 4s / 1 Elite 8 / 3 Sweet 16s
S Sutton 2006-2008: 39-29
Ford 2008-2015: 52-50 / 5 NCAA appearances

They only got Eddie Sutton because nobody else would touch him with a ten-foot pole with all the Kentucky monkey business. It's just like Bob Knight at Tech. Neither Sutton nor Knight were going to ever get another elite HC job, so that opened up oSu and Tech to a quality of coach that wouldn't normally be available to programs of their caliber. Nobody else oSu has hired had anything remotely similar to Sutton's success. To be honest, Ford has done far better than the others. So the question is, if they fire him, is there any chance they stumble onto the next Eddie Sutton?

Truth is, if they did hire a guy who had that kind of success, he'd probably end up leaving for one of the true blue-blood programs anyway. Sutton didn't have that option, and at his age, probably was happy to finish up in Stillwater.

So maybe TBP and Holder are looking at it like that. Hire a new guy, three things can happen. 1 - He sucks; 2 - He's marginally successful, just like Ford; 3 - He's very successful, leaves for a better job, and embarrasses a program with an over-inflated sense of self-worth.

Maybe letting Ford grow into a better coach is their answer. Because if they thought they could do better, he'd already be gone.

Just want everyone to know how freaking awesome this post is.

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

 

[skyvue]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

Here are their post-Iba stabs at it.

It's ancient history, but their pre-Iba stabs at it aren't any better. They've had two good coaches in their entire history, three if you count Ford.

 

[Max Power]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

I don't buy that crap for one minute. It's bad business to keep a bad coach just because you don't want to pay a buyout. An empty arena and no excitement around the program costs a lot more than that.

If Holder and TBP truly believed that Travis Ford isn't the guy, he'd be gone. So I'm not allowing them that excuse. The unfavorable contract is a red herring, IMO.

The bigger story, IMO, is whether oSu is really a basketball school that can attract (and keep) a quality coach. Here are their post-Iba stabs at it.

Aubrey 1970-73: 18-60
Strong 1973-77: 35-70
Kiilingsworth 1977-79: 22-31
Hansen 1979-86: 107-89 / One NCAA appearance
Hamilton 1986-1990: 56-63
E Sutton 1990-2006: 386-151 / 13 NCAA appearances / 2 Final 4s / 1 Elite 8 / 3 Sweet 16s
S Sutton 2006-2008: 39-29
Ford 2008-2015: 52-50 / 5 NCAA appearances

They only got Eddie Sutton because nobody else would touch him with a ten-foot pole with all the Kentucky monkey business. It's just like Bob Knight at Tech. Neither Sutton nor Knight were going to ever get another elite HC job, so that opened up oSu and Tech to a quality of coach that wouldn't normally be available to programs of their caliber. Nobody else oSu has hired had anything remotely similar to Sutton's success. To be honest, Ford has done far better than the others. So the question is, if they fire him, is there any chance they stumble onto the next Eddie Sutton?

Truth is, if they did hire a guy who had that kind of success, he'd probably end up leaving for one of the true blue-blood programs anyway. Sutton didn't have that option, and at his age, probably was happy to finish up in Stillwater.

So maybe TBP and Holder are looking at it like that. Hire a new guy, three things can happen. 1 - He sucks; 2 - He's marginally successful, just like Ford; 3 - He's very successful, leaves for a better job, and embarrasses a program with an over-inflated sense of self-worth.

Maybe letting Ford grow into a better coach is their answer. Because if they thought they could do better, he'd already be gone.

This might be the best thing I have ever read on this board

 

[Zimwillett]

http://www.orangepower.com/threads/ou-to-the-sweet-16.202223/

Awesome butt hurt in this thread.

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

:ez-roll: @ aggies. It's actually amazing how many posters in that thread are willing to give OU and Kruger credit. Of course, when you're 0 for the last 5 and 8-2 in the last 10 vs., it's kind of hard to say much else.

 

[soonernutt]

Re: Hilariously Awesome star about Lon Kruger

It's ancient history, but their pre-Iba stabs at it aren't any better. They've had two good coaches in their entire history, three if you count Ford.

It goes to show how hard great coaches are to come by, and if you aren't one of the traditional powers like NC, KU, UK, UCLA, etc... you are really lucky if one of them lands on your doorstep. Even luckier if you can hold on to him for several years. (like winning the lotto lucky).

At a place like oSu, you can't just snap your fingers and have the next Hank Iba appear at your doorstep. The stars have to align first. If the stars did align, and somebody that oSu really, really wanted (like Bill Self) suddenly became available. Ford would be fired tomorrow. But as it is, why fire a marginally successful coach for the unknown, when the unknown has been so unkind to them in the past?