ANAHEIM, Calif. — With a Final Four cap perched atop his head, Oklahoma basketball coach Lon Kruger was fielding questions about his last trip to the Final Four.
“Y'all talk like you should be going back more frequently,’’ he said with a hint of a smile. “I don't know. It's hard to get there.’’
And even harder to get back, if Kruger is the case study. When he made his first trip to the Final Four in 1994, he was the 41-year-old head coach at the University of Florida. Now he is the 63-year-old head coach of the Sooners, and his star player, Buddy Hield, serves as a nice reference point.
Hield was 3 months old when Kruger coached his Florida team in the national semifinals against Duke, which won the game 70-65. Back then, Kruger had two young children. Now those two children are grown, and Kruger has two young grandchildren.
With his family joining in the celebration after Oklahoma beat Oregon in an Elite Eight matchup Saturday, Kruger sounded like Rip Van Winkle while contemplating how much time had passed since he coached in a Final Four.
“Technology is just so different now than it was in ’94,’’ he said.
No texting. No Googling. No Facebook. And, for Kruger back then, no big-time players who possessed star power like Hield does. As the years passed, in fact, that was a knock on Kruger — impressive coach, unimpressive recruiter.
Poor recruiting contributed to Florida going 12-16 just two years after its appearance in the Final Four. Terrific coaching is what helped get Kruger the head coaching job with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks four years later.
He lasted less than three years with the Hawks. Kruger guaranteed season ticketholders before the 2002-2003 season that the team would make the playoffs or give a $125 refund, but he wasn’t around to pay it out.
Kruger, 69-122 with the Hawks, was fired 27 games into the 2002-03 season.
The safer guarantee for Kruger, who has compiled a career record of 590–360 and climbed to 10th on the list for most victories by an active college basketball coach (and 38th among all college coaches), is he could always find a job.
The journey has included stops as a college head coach at:
► Pan American from 1982 to 1986, during which he compiled a record of 52-59.
► Kansas State from 1986 to 1990, during which he reached the NCAA tournament four years in a row and advanced as far as the Elite Eight.
► Florida from 1990 to 1996, during which he took over a troubled program and guided it to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
► Illinois from 1996 to 2000, during which he reached the NCAA tournament three more times before taking his NBA hiatus, which included one year as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks after getting fired by the Hawks.
► UNLV from 2004 to 2011, during which he compiled a record of 161–71 and reached the NCAA tournament four more times.
► Oklahoma from 2011 to today, during which he is finally back because he has …?
“Kruger's role? Let me see now,’’ Hield said with a cagey smile, as if Kruger has only been along for the ride. “ Oh, he's been good for us.''
Then Hield explained how.
"The way he draws plays for us,'' Hield continued, "how we exploit a mismatch and how he gets us running plays for us to go downhill and drive
and kick, it's always with drive and kick and making a play for your teammate.’’
For those who think Kruger simply rides Hield’s coattails, Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy offered interesting perspective. Hield scored 17 points in Oklahoma’s 77-63 victory against Texas A&M in a Sweet 16 matchup.
“The thing that makes Oklahoma so good is their other guards, they've got the green light, too,’’ Kennedy said. “They're very comfortable, and coach Kruger's done an unbelievable job investing confidence in those guys, and that's where they beat you.’’
Hield also cited Kruger's temperament.
“He does a good job in keeping us collected,’’ Hield said. “He’s never too high, but he's always in between the lines, and never acting too angry at us. He's always mellow. So I'm just happy we've got a coach like Coach Kruger to keep us levelheaded every day.’’
Kruger’s head seemed as level as ever with that fresh black-and-old Final Four cap resting atop.
“I want our guys to enjoy it and yet focus on preparing for the next game,’’ Kruger said. “There is a fine line there that we’ll try to walk.’’
Because when it comes to the Final Four, few know better than Kruger just how long it might take to get back.
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