Lon Kruger

About

Journeyman head coach in both college and professional basketball who reached his second Final Four with the Oklahoma Sooners in 2016. He has been a head coach at Texas-Pan American, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV with his sole NBA head coaching tenure being with the Atlanta Hawks.

Before Fame

He played point guard for Kansas State, leading them to Big Eight championships in 1972 and 1973. He earned the Big Eight Player of the Year honor in 1973 and 1974. He also played baseball for the school in the shortstop position.

Trivia

He earned career victory number 500 as a head coach in November 2012. In 2013, he became the first head coach in the history of Division I basketball to lead five different schools to the NCAA tournament. In 2015, he became the first head coach to win an NCAA tournament game with five different schools.

Family Life

He has a son named Kevin and daughter Angie with his wife Barbara.

Associated With

Star player Buddy Hield helped Kruger lead the Sooners to their second Final Four under his tenure.