Lon = CLASS

[Vinny78]

How nice it is to have a basketball coach who knows how to get it done - without cheating - with humility - with total openess to fans at practice and media - never gets riled - and is one of the best coaches ever (he will soon be the ONLY coach in history to take 5 different teams to the tourney).

I am SOOOOO happy that Joe C and David Boren stepped up to the plate and made men's basketball important. They could have save a million and a half a year but the made it happen. Lon already has OU back and will get even better over the next 4 or 5 years and then probably hand it off to someone in great shape. So fun to look forward to the big dance again.

Thanks to Joe C and Boren!!!!!!!!!

 

[AdaSooner]

+ 1

Nice post, Vinny! :clap

 

[red recluse]

after the baylor game, there was a kid waiting by the tunnel to get his autograph. lon comes out for the radio interview, and tells the kid to wait until he's done and so he can give him the autograph. after about a minute, lon sends someone to get the kid and brings him down to the scorers table. after the interview, he gives him the autograph and talks with him for a minute or so. that kid and his father could not believe what just happened.

last night, i'm standing around waiting for traffic to clear like i always do. he's done with the interview and houck is briefing him for the media press conference as he is walking. no one has called out to him and i hadn't said a word. without provocation, he looks up, sees me, smiles and waves. it sounds stupid, but it blew me away. the guy truly is one of the most sincere, caring and genuine coaches in all of sports. the guy can flat out coach, no doubt. but we are incredibly lucky to have such a class individual representing this university. it only makes me want to do everything i can to support the program with him at the helm.

 

[jmizzy4ou]

How nice it is to have a basketball coach who knows how to get it done - without cheating - with humility - with total openess to fans at practice and media - never gets riled - and is one of the best coaches ever (he will soon be the ONLY coach in history to take 5 different teams to the tourney).

I am SOOOOO happy that Joe C and David Boren stepped up to the plate and made men's basketball important. They could have save a million and a half a year but the made it happen. Lon already has OU back and will get even better over the next 4 or 5 years and then probably hand it off to someone in great shape. So fun to look forward to the big dance again.

Thanks to Joe C and Boren!!!!!!!!!

:clap:clap:clap

 

[tycat947]

Totally agree with all above comments!

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

The people in Vegas were absolutely in love with him and his wife(she's great). I had the chance to do some volunteer work with several events they were also involved in. Although we didn't become friends or anything we did interact and they are both first class in every way. I was able to talk a little with him and told him I was from KC and watched him play etc. He remembered that another time we were at the same function. I never expected that to happen. Hopefully every really appreciates what a gift we have both on and off the court.

 

[oketex]

Class act!!!!!!!!!]

 

[Vinny78]

In that vein, back in 2000 I took my youngest daughter to the National championship game for Softball and watched as Patty and her team talked to everyone after winning the title and signed for everyone - very classy. Well, I sent a letter to her and copied everyone on how much I appreciated her and her team, etc.

As busy as she must have been after winning the national title I received a few days later a card on OU stock from her HAND WRITTEN and signed thanking me and my daughter for coming and the comments. I still have that thank you note right here in my desk. She and Lon are very similar and I love it when OU hires folks like that.

 

[MsProudSooner]

In that vein, back in 2000 I took my youngest daughter to the National championship game for Softball and watched as Patty and her team talked to everyone after winning the title and signed for everyone - very classy. Well, I sent a letter to her and copied everyone on how much I appreciated her and her team, etc.

As busy as she must have been after winning the national title I received a few days later a card on OU stock from her HAND WRITTEN and signed thanking me and my daughter for coming and the comments. I still have that thank you note right here in my desk. She and Lon are very similar and I love it when OU hires folks like that.

A hand written note is exceptionally nice in this day and age.

When my daughter was at OU, she was in Crimson & Cream. Before Kelvin arrived, C&C hadn't been involved w/ basketball recruiting. He asked them to help out and she conducted the campus tour for Tim Heskitt & Renzi Stone on their official visits. Prior to the tour, she met Coach Sampson. He asked the typical questions of a student - where are you from, what's your major, etc. When she told him the small school in Oklahoma she had graduated from, he asked her about a kid who had played there who was the same age as her. He had severely injured his hand the summer before his senior year and Kelvin asked if he had recovered. This kid wasn't a D1 recruit but Kelvin remembered his injury and where he was from. I was astonished that he remembered that.

 

[AdaSooner]

None of these stories about Coach Kruger surprise me. I don't have any personal experiences to relate, but it was obvious to me from the first time I met him briefly last year that he's the real deal and a people person deluxe. That's one of the reasons he has been successful at every stop he's made.

He's a good coach, but he also knows how to bring people together for a common cause. The stories about his interaction with kids, for example. I learned a long time ago that the best way to get into the hearts and minds of adults is through their children. The father in red recluse's story will never forget that experience. And, you can bet that he told his friends and other family members about it. LK was able to reach out to perhaps dozens of adults by spending time with one boy who only wanted an autograph. He's not only a nice man, he's smart, too.

 

[sdcloud9]

I know a young guy that is an assistant Juco women's coach in Oklahoma. He was a graduate assistant at UCO with Terry Evans a few years ago.

He told me they went to a coaches clinic in Vegas when LK was there and this young guy told Kruger that he was completing his masters in athletic administration.

Kruger sent him a hand written list of people and phone numbers that he might talk to about a future job in administration.

How classy is that!!!

 

[WTSooner]

Kruger definitely goes above and beyond when it comes to interacting with the fans and the community. I honestly don't know how anybody could say a single negative thing about Lon Kruger as a man. Seems to be about as good as it gets in that regard. And he's not bad at coaching basketball either.

 

[badger]

Another thank-you to Lon & wife for accepting the OU trainwreck challenge. He had an NCAA tourney-bound program in UNLV and decided to make Norman, Okla., not Las Vegas, his retirement stop.

 

[Big Old Booger]

A little off-topic about Lon, but the other day I was researching something about Lon and found this:

Kruger was selected to the all-time Big Eight Team (third team) and was named "Mr. Hustle" all-time in the Big Eight. An Academic All-American as a senior, he also earned All-Big Eight academic honors two times and was the first player to capture Kansas State's coveted Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player Award three times. On Feb. 8, 2006, Kruger was honored during a halftime ceremony at a Kansas State game by having his No. 12 jersey retired.

I knew he had his jersey retired, but was not aware he was named Mr Hustle. Not to mention the academic accolades, which I figured he was fairly intelligent, but he was clearly a true student/athlete.

I think this is significant because he is able to get his teams to play like he played.

Back to the point of the thread, he is all class, no doubt.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

A little off-topic about Lon, but the other day I was researching something about Lon and found this:

I knew he had his jersey retired, but was not aware he was named Mr Hustle. Not to mention the academic accolades, which I figured he was fairly intelligent, but he was clearly a true student/athlete.

I think this is significant because he is able to get his teams to play like he played.

Back to the point of the thread, he is all class, no doubt.

Not to mention two time POY as well as Sophomore of the year. And if you played for Jack Hartman you went to class. As much as I disliked Hartman he could coach and Kruger was his coach on the floor. Lon has been doing this since he began college.

 

[slappy in OP]

The more stories like this you hear about Lon make you truly appreciate what we have. I think that OU has some great people that happen to be hired as excellent coaches in multiple sports. We are very fortunate to have these people represent the university that we love.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

The more stories like this you hear about Lon make you truly appreciate what we have. I think that OU has some great people that happen to be hired as excellent coaches in multiple sports. We are very fortunate to have these people represent the university that we love.

I never dreamed he would have left Vegas. He and his wife loved it there and the town did so in return. I'm thinking he saw something here and I'm glad he did. I remember all the names that were being thrown around and I didn't like any of them. Bruce Pearl? Ugh. I'm really looking forward to the next however many years. Plus everywhere he's gone he's left it in good shape for the next guy. The first team Self had at Illinois went to the Elite 8 going 27-8 and winning the league. After Good and Coach Spoon wiped off the Tark/Rollie/Bayno stench at UNLV he kept taking them in the right direction. If you think our program was bad after Capel this was 100 times worse.