Was Lon perfect for this job or what?

[BigTime]

I can't believe I wanted Buzz Williams :facepalm

Lon is able to recruit 3 and 4 star guys with ease and coach them up. He will sneak in a high 4 or 5 star (looking at you Trae or Marques) but is able to make a living on recruiting talented and hard working kids which is perfect for a place like Oklahoma with lots of resources and a big, national brand. He is a model of consistency much like Kelvin Sampson, but unlike Sampson, does not polarize the fanbase.

Well done, Joe C. Well done.

 

[sybarite]

Better than I had expected.

But, I still like Sampson.

 

[OUReality]

This is a good post. I for one was underwhelmed by the Lon hire. I knew he was a solid coach and thought he would get OU in the tourney consistently, but nothing more. I have been surprised at the talent & depth he has brought to Norman. His demeanor is perfect for a basketball coach at a football school. He definitely was the perfect fit for OU.

 

[tycat947]

This is a good post. I for one was underwhelmed by the Lon hire. I knew he was a solid coach and thought he would get OU in the tourney consistently, but nothing more. I have been surprised at the talent & depth he has brought to Norman. His demeanor is perfect for a basketball coach at a football school. He definitely was the perfect fit for OU.

Well, it's talent he and staff had an eye for and also that they've developed. Not like we're loaded with McD All-Americans, i.e. KU, Duke, UK, etc.

 

[BigTime]

Better than I had expected.

But, I still like Sampson.

Oh I like Sampson too (Houston is 10-2 which is no surprise) but there is no denying that Kelvin polarized the fanbase and rubbed quite a few the wrong way. Lon is such a likable guy. :lon

 

[zeptrey]

Oh I like Sampson too (Houston is 10-2 which is no surprise) but there is no denying that Kelvin polarized the fanbase and rubbed quite a few the wrong way. Lon is such a likable guy. :lon

The fanbase for Oklahoma Basketball never has been a very large population. So the 3 people he angered should have gotten over it with the W's he put up. There were a couple of years that he couldn't get a tourney win to save his life, but all in all he did a great job.

I can't stand the "he rubs the fanbase the wrong way" thing (I get what you are saying and nothing against what you are saying). The only thing that makes me angry as a fan is getting the program in major trouble and not winning consistently. Capel rubbed me the wrong way.

Long post...but as I've said repeatedly...great freaking hire. Love what Lon has done here and when he decides to retire (hopefully not any time soon), he will leave the program in great shape.

 

[BigTime]

The fanbase for Oklahoma Basketball never has been a very large population. So the 3 people he angered should have gotten over it with the W's he put up. There were a couple of years that he couldn't get a tourney win to save his life, but all in all he did a great job.

I can't stand the "he rubs the fanbase the wrong way" thing (I get what you are saying and nothing against what you are saying). The only thing that makes me angry as a fan is getting the program in major trouble and not winning consistently. Capel rubbed me the wrong way.

Long post...but as I've said repeatedly...great freaking hire. Love what Lon has done here and when he decides to retire (hopefully not any time soon), he will leave the program in great shape.

Good post. I agree with your sentiment.

 

[usedtobe1]

I can't believe I wanted Buzz Williams :facepalm

Well done, Joe C. Well done.

I wanted Josh Pastner. It reminds me of the line in the Garth Brooks song "Thank God for unanswered prayers".

How many more years can we expect out of Lon? 5 or 6?

Unanswered Prayers

 

[AdaSooner]

I can't believe I wanted Buzz Williams :facepalm

You're not the only one who wanted Buzz Williams. I thought the video of him doing that "walkin' the dog" dance (or whatever it was called) was some kind of cool. I was disappointed when he decided to stay at Marquette. Boy, am I glad he did!

I watched the V-Tech/WVU game earlier today. Buzz paced up and down the sideline the entire game, ranting and raving, griping about the officiating, chewing on his players as sweat streamed down his face, only to see his team get drilled on their own floor.

I couldn't help but think about how fortunate we were that Buzz stayed put and Lon finally gave in to Joe C's determined effort to bring him to Norman.

The answer is, YES! Lon Kruger was perfect for the OU job!!!

 

[sperry]

Did OU offer the job to Buzz, or was that just a name the fans wanted?

I was never a supporter of that guy, his resume just wasn't particularly impressive.

Obviously we got the right guy.

 

[usedtobe1]

I think Kruger was always Joe C's first choice. He just wouldn't take no for an answer. There wasn't a search committee. It was all Joe C so there were no leaks about what really went on. That's how I understood it.

 

[DenverSooner]

There were a couple of years that he couldn't get a tourney win to save his life, but all in all he did a great job.

This is an unfair criticism of Sampson because he was not supposed to make the tournament. He performed better than expected but lost first round games. The loss to Manhatten was a big upset but the other losses were not. OU was closely seeded to those teams and some of them OU was the lower seeded team. I never understood why fans complained so much about that. Certainly I wanted OU to beat Temple, Stanford and Indiana but they were not outrageous losses that should turn the fan base against the team and coach.

 

[ousooners1baby]

Umm, yes. Yes he was. I wanted Williams a bit too. Peeeeuuuuu.

 

[zeptrey]

This is an unfair criticism of Sampson because he was not supposed to make the tournament. He performed better than expected but lost first round games. The loss to Manhatten was a big upset but the other losses were not. OU was closely seeded to those teams and some of them OU was the lower seeded team. I never understood why fans complained so much about that. Certainly I wanted OU to beat Temple, Stanford and Indiana but they were not outrageous losses that should turn the fan base against the team and coach.

That wasn't the point of that post but that loss to Manhattan really sucked.

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[Larry72]

Lon was a great hire. Lon's staff has been excellent also in recruiting and player's offensive development.

 

[skyvue]

That wasn't the point of that post but that loss to Manhattan really sucked

I was sweating that game going in. I don't think it was such a big upset, but I know that's how it was (and is) perceived.

Sampson rubbed some fans the wrong way mostly by not being Billy Tubbs.

 

[Sooner04]

Sampson rubbed some fans the wrong way mostly by not being Billy Tubbs.

And flirting with a few jobs early in his tenure (NC State and, most of all, Texas).

The whole Muoneke thing that he and Karen waded into certainly didn't help matters either.


Big Kelvin fan here. He was a different guy, but he was an incredible basketball coach. We were very lucky to have him, and I hate that things ended on a sour note. I wish him best, but he doesn't cross my mind much anymore.

 

[skyvue]

he doesn't cross my mind much anymore.

Me either. I had no idea, for example, how Houston was doing this season. Glad to hear they're playing well.

 

[stormspencer]

This is a good post. I for one was underwhelmed by the Lon hire. I knew he was a solid coach and thought he would get OU in the tourney consistently, but nothing more. I have been surprised at the talent & depth he has brought to Norman. His demeanor is perfect for a basketball coach at a football school. He definitely was the perfect fit for OU.

These were my thoughts initially on the LK hire as well. Boy, I've never been so glad to be wrong.

 

[KBaden145]

And flirting with a few jobs early in his tenure (NC State and, most of all, Texas).



The whole Muoneke thing that he and Karen waded into certainly didn't help matters either.





Big Kelvin fan here. He was a different guy, but he was an incredible basketball coach. We were very lucky to have him, and I hate that things ended on a sour note. I wish him best, but he doesn't cross my mind much anymore.

While I do consider myself a big Kelvin fan, he did rub people wrong because he just really wasn't a very nice person. Helluva a game coach tip to buzzer; best we've ever had and as good as there is in college basketball. I wanted Lon to be the guy to replace him but JC made one of his few poor hires. 2nd time around I have admit I was a Buzz guy but only bc I didn't think there was anyway we'd get Lon out of Vegas. Glad JC didn't take no for an answer. Except for in-game coaching, Lon is the superior coach to Sampson in every other area IMHO (recruiting and player development, dealing with the community, NCAA rules adherence, real fundamental program building)


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