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http://www.coachkruger.com/Timeline/Default.aspx
1970 – Drafted by Houston Astros as a pitcher out of Silver Lake (Kansas) High School. At Silver Lake, Kruger letters all four years in basketball, baseball and football; attends Kansas State University to play basketball and baseball.
1972 – On the basketball court, named Big Eight Sophomore of the Year and is starting point guard on the Big Eight Championship team.
1973 – On the basketball court, named Big Eight Player of the Year and helps lead the Wildcats to a second-straight Big Eight Championship; plays on first U.S. Team to tour China; named to All-Big Eight Academic Honor Roll.
1974 – Earns Academic All-American honors and again named to All-Big Eight Academic Honor Roll; Again named Big Eight Player of the Year in basketball, as well as KSU Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player, KSU Captain, and plays in East-West All-Star Classic; drafted by MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher; drafted by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and invited to tryout with NFL’s Dallas Cowboys as a quarterback, despite not playing football in college; Pitches for a season in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system.
1975 – Graduates from Kansas State with a degree in business; plays basketball overseas in the European Professional League for Tel Aviv, Israel; returns to America and joins Detroit Pistons training camp in attempt to make regular season roster. He is the final player cut; Marries college sweetheart, Barbara Miles.
1976 – Becomes graduate assistant coach for Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kansas.
1977 – Rejoins Kansas State as graduate assistant coach; earns master’s degree in physical education from Pittsburg State.
1978 – Officially becomes assistant coach for alma mater at the age of 26.
1980 – Barb and Lon have their first child, a daughter, Angie.
1982 – First head coaching job at Texas-Pan American in the Independent League; he also becomes athletic director of UT-PA, making him, at the age of 29, the youngest AD in the country. The Broncos had won just five games the season before he arrives on campus.
1983 – Barb and Lon have their second child, a son, Kevin; Assistant coach for U.S. Pan American Team (gold medal).
1986 – In just his fourth season with the program, Kruger leads Texas-Pan American to 20-8 season; it marks the first time he wins 20 games as a head coach (something he will do with all five college programs he coaches); hired as head coach of his alma mater, Kansas State University; Wildcats had not reached the NCAA Tournament in four years at the time of his hiring.
1987 – With a 19-10 record, Kruger’s first Kansas State team reaches the NCAA Tournament; Wildcats lose in the second round to UNLV, which advances to Final Four; serves as head coach of Big Eight Select Team in Beijing, China.
1988 – In just his second season at the helm, leads Kansas State to the Elite Eight and 25 wins; Wildcats upset No. 1 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion Kansas; Kansas State had been selected in the preseason to finish just fourth in the conference; named NABC District Coach of the Year.
1990 – Hired by University of Florida of the Southeastern Conference after taking Kansas State to the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons; Florida is coming off a seven-win season and is under investigations by the NCAA and FBI for wrongdoings in the program; Kruger is chosen because of his reputation of running a clean program.
1991 – Leads USA Junior World Championship Team to a gold medal as head coach; Lon and Barb begin term (1991-93) as serving as co-chairpersons of the Alachua County's Red Ribbon campaign, promoting a drug-free environment. The Krugers will later receive consecutive Community Service Awards from the Gainesville Community Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse.
1992 – In the second year of rebuilding the Gator program, Florida finishes 19-14 and advances to the semifinals of the NIT; Kruger is named SEC Coach of the Year.
1994 – Florida shocks the nation by advancing to the Final Four with a 29-8 record; Kruger is awarded SEC Coach of the Year as well as being a finalist for Naismith National Coach of the Year; the Gators had been selected in the preseason to finish eighth in the SEC; begins six year (1994-2000) term on board of directors of National Association of Basketball Coaches.
1995 – As head coach, wins gold medal with USA World University Games team featuring Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Ray Allen; named Gainesville (Fla.) Volunteer of the Year.
1996 – After six seasons and over 100 wins while rebuilding the Florida program from its lowest point, Kruger takes the head coaching job at Illinois in the Big Ten; Illinois is on NCAA probation at the time and has won only one NCAA Tournament game in the past seven years.
1997 – In the first season at Illinois, Kruger leads the Illini to a 22-10 record and advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
1998 – Illinois captures a share of the Big Ten Conference title, its first championship since 1984; The Illini finish with a 23-10 mark and advance to the second round of NCAA Tournament despite being picked in the preseason to finish seventh in the conference; Kruger is chosen to be an assistant coach for the USA World Basketball team (bronze medal).
1999 – Inducted into state of Kansas Hall of Fame; Selected to NABC Silver Anniversary Team.
2000 – In his last season with Illinois, the team finishes 22-10 and advances to second round of NCAA Tournament; Kruger is again offered an NBA head coaching job and this time he takes it – with the Atlanta Hawks.
2003 – After two-and-a-half seasons with the Hawks, Kruger becomes assistant coach for the New York Knicks. Although unable to turnaround the Hawks as he had hoped, Kruger learns much from the NBA experience that makes him a better coach and professional; inducted into the Kansas State University Hall of Fame.
2004 – Kruger returns to college basketball as he becomes the head coach of UNLV; it is yet another challenge as the Runnin’ Rebels have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1991 and are finishing an NCAA probationary period.
2006 – Kruger’s No. 12 jersey is retired at Kansas State University and he is inducted into the Topeka (Kansas) and Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame.
2007 – In just Kruger’s third season at the helm, the Runnin’ Rebels jump back on the national scene with a 30-win season and a Sweet 16 appearance; along the way, UNLV wins the Mountain West Conference championship and Runnin’ Rebels are ranked for the first time since 1992; Kruger enjoys the run with son, Kevin, who starts as a senior point guard for the Runnin’ Rebels and wins MVP honors of the MWC Tournament; named Sportsman of the Year by ESPN 920 in Las Vegas; teams with the Southern Neavda Health District to develop "Coach's Challenge," aimed at fighting childhood obesity; becomes spokesperson for Clark County School District's School-Community Partnership.
2008 – In what many consider to be his best season coaching, Kruger leads an underdog UNLV squad to 27 wins, the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a second-straight Mountain West Conference championship; UNLV had lost five seniors (including four starters) off of its Sweet 16 season from the season before and, during the season, Kruger dismisses three players from the team because of disciplinary issues; the starting unit features a 6-foot-7 center and two walk-ons but still finds a way to win; Kruger is named MWC Coach of the Year, USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year and is a finalist for National Coach of the Year; captures his 400th win as a college basketball head coach.... With NCAA Tournament success and a 57-15 record over the past two seasons, UNLV again solidifies itself as one of the top programs in the nation; ESPN names UNLV the eighth most prestigious college basketball program in the modern era... Coach becomes “Father of the Bride,” as Angie, now a doctor, marries Mike Ciklin... Kruger’s first book, The Xs and Os of Success: A Playbook for Leaders in Business and Life, is published. All of Kruger's proceeds are to be donated to Clark County School District's School-Community Partnership.
2009 - The Runnin' Rebels finish the season with 21 wins, marking the third-straight season UNLV has won 20-plus games. It is the first time since 1990-93 that UNLV has accomplished the feat; Kruger captures his 105th win at UNLV, which is the most at any school Kruger has coached at; Kruger is announced as a finalist for the Skip Prosser Award, which is given to a Division I head coach who best represents the high standards of the coaching profession by winning with integrity.
2010 - Despite losing four of its top six producers from the previous season, UNLV finished the year 25-9 and advances to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four seasons. Nearly 92% of the Runnin' Rebels' scoring during the year comes from underclassmen and UNLV is ranked in the Top 25 for five weeks during the season, the most since the 1992-93 season... UNLV becomes just one of five teams in the West to win 100-plus games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season - BYU, UCLA, Gonzaga and Utah State are the others... The Runnin' Rebels also draw their largest crowds at the Thomas & Mack Center since coach Jerry Tarkanian's last season in 1991-92. UNLV remains No. 1 on the West Coast in attendance and moves up to No. 18 in the nation.
1970 – Drafted by Houston Astros as a pitcher out of Silver Lake (Kansas) High School. At Silver Lake, Kruger letters all four years in basketball, baseball and football; attends Kansas State University to play basketball and baseball.
1972 – On the basketball court, named Big Eight Sophomore of the Year and is starting point guard on the Big Eight Championship team.
1973 – On the basketball court, named Big Eight Player of the Year and helps lead the Wildcats to a second-straight Big Eight Championship; plays on first U.S. Team to tour China; named to All-Big Eight Academic Honor Roll.
1974 – Earns Academic All-American honors and again named to All-Big Eight Academic Honor Roll; Again named Big Eight Player of the Year in basketball, as well as KSU Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player, KSU Captain, and plays in East-West All-Star Classic; drafted by MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher; drafted by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and invited to tryout with NFL’s Dallas Cowboys as a quarterback, despite not playing football in college; Pitches for a season in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system.
1975 – Graduates from Kansas State with a degree in business; plays basketball overseas in the European Professional League for Tel Aviv, Israel; returns to America and joins Detroit Pistons training camp in attempt to make regular season roster. He is the final player cut; Marries college sweetheart, Barbara Miles.
1976 – Becomes graduate assistant coach for Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kansas.
1977 – Rejoins Kansas State as graduate assistant coach; earns master’s degree in physical education from Pittsburg State.
1978 – Officially becomes assistant coach for alma mater at the age of 26.
1980 – Barb and Lon have their first child, a daughter, Angie.
1982 – First head coaching job at Texas-Pan American in the Independent League; he also becomes athletic director of UT-PA, making him, at the age of 29, the youngest AD in the country. The Broncos had won just five games the season before he arrives on campus.
1983 – Barb and Lon have their second child, a son, Kevin; Assistant coach for U.S. Pan American Team (gold medal).
1986 – In just his fourth season with the program, Kruger leads Texas-Pan American to 20-8 season; it marks the first time he wins 20 games as a head coach (something he will do with all five college programs he coaches); hired as head coach of his alma mater, Kansas State University; Wildcats had not reached the NCAA Tournament in four years at the time of his hiring.
1987 – With a 19-10 record, Kruger’s first Kansas State team reaches the NCAA Tournament; Wildcats lose in the second round to UNLV, which advances to Final Four; serves as head coach of Big Eight Select Team in Beijing, China.
1988 – In just his second season at the helm, leads Kansas State to the Elite Eight and 25 wins; Wildcats upset No. 1 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion Kansas; Kansas State had been selected in the preseason to finish just fourth in the conference; named NABC District Coach of the Year.
1990 – Hired by University of Florida of the Southeastern Conference after taking Kansas State to the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons; Florida is coming off a seven-win season and is under investigations by the NCAA and FBI for wrongdoings in the program; Kruger is chosen because of his reputation of running a clean program.
1991 – Leads USA Junior World Championship Team to a gold medal as head coach; Lon and Barb begin term (1991-93) as serving as co-chairpersons of the Alachua County's Red Ribbon campaign, promoting a drug-free environment. The Krugers will later receive consecutive Community Service Awards from the Gainesville Community Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse.
1992 – In the second year of rebuilding the Gator program, Florida finishes 19-14 and advances to the semifinals of the NIT; Kruger is named SEC Coach of the Year.
1994 – Florida shocks the nation by advancing to the Final Four with a 29-8 record; Kruger is awarded SEC Coach of the Year as well as being a finalist for Naismith National Coach of the Year; the Gators had been selected in the preseason to finish eighth in the SEC; begins six year (1994-2000) term on board of directors of National Association of Basketball Coaches.
1995 – As head coach, wins gold medal with USA World University Games team featuring Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Ray Allen; named Gainesville (Fla.) Volunteer of the Year.
1996 – After six seasons and over 100 wins while rebuilding the Florida program from its lowest point, Kruger takes the head coaching job at Illinois in the Big Ten; Illinois is on NCAA probation at the time and has won only one NCAA Tournament game in the past seven years.
1997 – In the first season at Illinois, Kruger leads the Illini to a 22-10 record and advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
1998 – Illinois captures a share of the Big Ten Conference title, its first championship since 1984; The Illini finish with a 23-10 mark and advance to the second round of NCAA Tournament despite being picked in the preseason to finish seventh in the conference; Kruger is chosen to be an assistant coach for the USA World Basketball team (bronze medal).
1999 – Inducted into state of Kansas Hall of Fame; Selected to NABC Silver Anniversary Team.
2000 – In his last season with Illinois, the team finishes 22-10 and advances to second round of NCAA Tournament; Kruger is again offered an NBA head coaching job and this time he takes it – with the Atlanta Hawks.
2003 – After two-and-a-half seasons with the Hawks, Kruger becomes assistant coach for the New York Knicks. Although unable to turnaround the Hawks as he had hoped, Kruger learns much from the NBA experience that makes him a better coach and professional; inducted into the Kansas State University Hall of Fame.
2004 – Kruger returns to college basketball as he becomes the head coach of UNLV; it is yet another challenge as the Runnin’ Rebels have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1991 and are finishing an NCAA probationary period.
2006 – Kruger’s No. 12 jersey is retired at Kansas State University and he is inducted into the Topeka (Kansas) and Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame.
2007 – In just Kruger’s third season at the helm, the Runnin’ Rebels jump back on the national scene with a 30-win season and a Sweet 16 appearance; along the way, UNLV wins the Mountain West Conference championship and Runnin’ Rebels are ranked for the first time since 1992; Kruger enjoys the run with son, Kevin, who starts as a senior point guard for the Runnin’ Rebels and wins MVP honors of the MWC Tournament; named Sportsman of the Year by ESPN 920 in Las Vegas; teams with the Southern Neavda Health District to develop "Coach's Challenge," aimed at fighting childhood obesity; becomes spokesperson for Clark County School District's School-Community Partnership.
2008 – In what many consider to be his best season coaching, Kruger leads an underdog UNLV squad to 27 wins, the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a second-straight Mountain West Conference championship; UNLV had lost five seniors (including four starters) off of its Sweet 16 season from the season before and, during the season, Kruger dismisses three players from the team because of disciplinary issues; the starting unit features a 6-foot-7 center and two walk-ons but still finds a way to win; Kruger is named MWC Coach of the Year, USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year and is a finalist for National Coach of the Year; captures his 400th win as a college basketball head coach.... With NCAA Tournament success and a 57-15 record over the past two seasons, UNLV again solidifies itself as one of the top programs in the nation; ESPN names UNLV the eighth most prestigious college basketball program in the modern era... Coach becomes “Father of the Bride,” as Angie, now a doctor, marries Mike Ciklin... Kruger’s first book, The Xs and Os of Success: A Playbook for Leaders in Business and Life, is published. All of Kruger's proceeds are to be donated to Clark County School District's School-Community Partnership.
2009 - The Runnin' Rebels finish the season with 21 wins, marking the third-straight season UNLV has won 20-plus games. It is the first time since 1990-93 that UNLV has accomplished the feat; Kruger captures his 105th win at UNLV, which is the most at any school Kruger has coached at; Kruger is announced as a finalist for the Skip Prosser Award, which is given to a Division I head coach who best represents the high standards of the coaching profession by winning with integrity.
2010 - Despite losing four of its top six producers from the previous season, UNLV finished the year 25-9 and advances to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four seasons. Nearly 92% of the Runnin' Rebels' scoring during the year comes from underclassmen and UNLV is ranked in the Top 25 for five weeks during the season, the most since the 1992-93 season... UNLV becomes just one of five teams in the West to win 100-plus games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season - BYU, UCLA, Gonzaga and Utah State are the others... The Runnin' Rebels also draw their largest crowds at the Thomas & Mack Center since coach Jerry Tarkanian's last season in 1991-92. UNLV remains No. 1 on the West Coast in attendance and moves up to No. 18 in the nation.
