Lon Kruger (born August 19, 1952 in Silver Lake, Kansas) is an American basketball coach. Most recently he took the UNLV Rebels to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Sweet 16 for the first time since 1991.
Prior to accepting the head coaching position at UNLV in 2004, Kruger was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. It was as head coach of the Hawks that Kruger guaranteed season-ticket holders that the Hawks would make the playoffs or get a $125 refund. The Hawks failed to make the playoffs and Kruger was fired midway through the season. Kruger also held head coaching positions in collegiate basketball at the University of Texas-Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State University (1986-90), the University of Florida (1990-96), and the University of Illinois (1996-2000). Kruger is one of five coaches to take 4 teams to the men's NCAA basketball tournament.
He was an assistant coach under Rudy Tomjanovich for the US national team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.[1]
As a player, Kruger led Kansas State to back-to-back Big Eight championships in 1972 and 1973 under coach Jack Hartman. Kruger was named the Big Eight Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974, after being named the Big Eight Sophomore of the Year in 1972. He was also a Shortstop on the Kansas State Baseball team. As coach of the Wildcats, he led K-State to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons as head coach and the Elite 8 in 1988 before losing to the archrival Kansas Jayhawks, the eventual national champion.
Kruger's son, Kevin, took advantage of a new NCAA rule, called Proposal 2005-54,[2] before the 2006-2007 season to transfer from Arizona State and immediately play for his father at UNLV without sitting out one year. The controversial rule has been repealed for the next season due to the "unintended consequences" of allowing players with undergraduate diplomas to immediately begin playing for another school without sitting out for any time.[3]
On February 9, 2008, The UNLV Rebels beat Colorado St. 68-51 at home, for his 400th career win.
Collegiate Coaching Record
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