By PAUL GOTHAM
COLUMBUS, OH — Lon Kruger etched his own name in NCAA Tournament history on Sunday.
When his No. 3-seed Oklahoma Sooners defeated the No. 11-seed Dayton Flyers and advanced to the Sweet 16, it marked the first time in history a coach has taken four different programs to a regional semi-final.
Kruger’s selfless response to the accomplishment gave an indication for his continued success.
“It obviously doesn’t make a lot of difference in people’s lives,” Kruger said after the 72-66 victory. “Certainly won’t in mine. But it means we’ve had a lot of good players, a lot of good programs and certainly proud of this group today.”
Buddy Hield led the way as the Sooners erased a nine-point deficit and moved on to face No. 7-seed Michigan State.
“He’s always studying,” the Big 12 Player of the Year said. “Sometimes he goes straight from the plane to watching film. He says ‘this is your job. This is something you love.’ This is his craft.”
Hield scored 15, handed out a game-high five assists and his layup with 5:56 to go gave Oklahoma a lead it never surrendered at 57-56.
“He’s always trying to find ways to make his team better,” Hield continued. “I couldn’t be happier than I am playing for Coach Kruger. He’s been so good to us. We’re still not done yet.”
Kruger took UNLV to the Sweet 16 in 2007 and Florida to the 1994 Final Four.
Current assistant, Steve Henson, played on Kruger’s 1988 Kansas State which went to the Elite Eight. Henson pointed to his mentor’s adaptability as an indicator for success.
“He’s never been a guy who’s locked into one system,” Henson stated. “In the old days at K-State we were real slow down with a real tight, compact defense. Last year we scored like crazy and didn’t defend. This year we’re defending like crazy and having some slow spots offensively.”
Soon after his playing days ended, Henson found his way on to Kruger’s staff serving as an assistant at Illinois before following Kruger to the NBA. Henson served on Kruger’s staff all seven years at UNLV and made the move Oklahoma.
“It’s always about finding what works for the current group of guys and pushing the right buttons,” Henson added. “With him there’s no ego. It’s all of us together trying to make it work. It’s not a cookie cutter deal where we’re going to where we’re going to plug guys in. Study and work with the guys. And put them in positions to succeed.”
When he was an assistant at Arizona, Dayton’s Archie Miller faced Kruger.
“He’s a Hall of Fame coach, and every place he’s been he’s done it the right way,” Miller said. “Every place he’s been they play so hard, they play together. I remember coaching at Arizona when he was at UNLV in those last couple of years and we played them. He did the same thing there…a great guy, too.”
Chris Crutchfield pointed to the significance of Kruger accomplishing this milestone over four decades.
“It’s his ability to adjust,” the Oklahoma assistant said. “Now he’s dealing with a whole other generation of kids. Having to adjust to those kids and understanding today’s kids and being able to motivate them still. That’s what makes him really, really special. He’s been able to do this from generation to generation. He has a great feel for people In return they ending treating you the right way. Those guys would run through a brick wall for him, just because he treated them the right way.”
Ryan Spangler transferred to Oklahoma after one year at Gonzaga. The 6-8 forward is part of starting five which has remained consistent throughout the year.
“If y’all were around him every day, y’all be able to realize why he’s been able to do that with four schools,” Spangler said. “He just grows all of us individually on and off the court. He makes us good academically. He makes us men off the court.”
Frank Booker came off the bench and scored 12 points in Sunday’s win. The 6-4 guard his four of his six attempts from behind the arc.
“He’s so methodical,” Booker commented. “It’s great to be a part of what he’s doing and hopefully we can keep going. He holds us all accountable. It doesn’t even have to be on the court. He keeps us accountable in the classroom and out of the classroom. Once we do things, we don’t have to worry about stuff. He makes sure we’re focused on the game ahead. It’s amazing to be a part of what he’s trying to do.”
With this being Kruger’s fourth year in Norman, Henson sees the similarity in each of Kruger’s rebuilding projects.
“This has been a typical rebuild for Coach Kruger,” Henson explained. “He came into a program with great tradition. A program that’s had a lot of success in the past and just fallen off a little bit at the end right before we got here. He gets guys to buy in and see the big picture. He’s always been a picture guy. If you look back at his track record that third or fourth year, typically he’s had a ton of success. Get in there early and recruit like crazy. Recruit the right kind of guys.”
John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Bill Self and Tubby Smith have each taken three schools to the Sweet 16.
Michigan State and Oklahoma tip off on Friday.
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