Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Auburn on February 24, 2026 , Win , 91, to, 79
Final
Men's Basketball
91
vs Auburn
79
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Kruger to Receive Court of Honor Award
July 14, 2022 | Men's Basketball
NORMAN –– Former Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Lon Kruger will receive the Court of Honor Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation at the 11th Court of Honor Gala as announced by the NABC on Thursday.
Kruger along with Roy Williams and Reggie Minton will be recognized at the Gala in Chicago on Wednesday, September 14.
"Our three honorees this year for the Court of Honor Awards, Roy Williams, Lon Kruger and Reggie Minton, are not only outstanding basketball coaches. They have been champions for numerous humanitarian efforts in their own communities and nationally," said Craig Robinson, NABC and NABC Foundation executive director.
The Court of Honor Award is presented to individuals who have roots in college basketball, values those roots, and have gone on to distinguish themselves in their profession, exhibiting the highest standards of leadership.
"Lon and Reggie have been pillars in the Coaches vs. Cancer program while Roy has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of many charities in the Chapel Hill area, including the Carolina Covenant, an initiative at North Carolina that allows low-income students to attend the University debt-free," said Robinson.
Kruger's 674 Division I wins are the 27th most all-time and were the 10th most among active coaches at the time of his retirement. His 195 victories at OU rank as the fourth most in program history.
Kruger became the first coach in NCAA Division I history to take five different schools to the NCAA Tournament and he is the only coach to win an NCAA Tournament game with five programs. He is also the only coach since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to take four programs to the Sweet 16 or beyond.
No stranger to the postseason, Kruger's teams reached 20 NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Sweet 16 five times and earning Final Four berths in 1994 (Florida) and 2016 (Oklahoma). He led the Sooners to seven NCAA Tournaments, two Sweet 16s and the 2016 Final Four. Under Kruger, Oklahoma produced six first-team All-Big 12 selections and 32 Academic All-Big 12 honors. Kruger's teams featured numerous stars and were highlighted by 2016 National Player of the Year Buddy Hield and 2018 National Freshman of the Year Trae Young.
Four Sooners were selected in the NBA Draft during Kruger's tenure and two were drafted among the top six picks (Hield and Young).
Prior to his time in Norman, Kruger served as the head coach at Texas-Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State (1986-90), Florida (1990-96), Illinois (1996-2000) and UNLV (2004-11). He also spent three years as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks (2000-03) and one year as a New York Knicks assistant (2003-04). Kruger directed all six college programs to 20-win seasons and took each of the last five to the NCAA Tournament.
Kruger spent seven years at UNLV and compiled a 161-71 (.694) record prior to his arrival in Norman. He coached the Runnin' Rebels to four NCAA Tournaments and revitalized a program that had made the NCAA Tournament only two times in the previous 15 seasons before Kruger's leadership.
Kruger spent four years as the Illinois head coach prior to his four-year stint in the NBA. His Illini teams were 81-48 and made the NCAA Tournament three times.
He spent the previous six seasons at Florida (1990-96) and led the Gators to the 1994 Final Four. The year prior to Kruger's arrival in Gainesville, the Gators finished 7-21. He became one of two head coaches to inherit two teams coming off a sub-.500 year and take both to the Final Four within their first five seasons as head coach.
Prior to his time at Florida, Kruger received his second collegiate head coaching job at his alma mater, Kansas State (1986-90). He finished his four-year stay in Manhattan with an 81-46 (.638) record and led all four teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Kruger started his coaching career at Texas-Pan American (now UTRGV) where he compiled a 52-59 record. He concluded his four-year tenure with a 20-8 record in his final season.
In 2019, Kruger was awarded the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award and in 2017 he was awarded the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Metropolitan Award for long and outstanding service to men's college basketball.
Kruger along with Roy Williams and Reggie Minton will be recognized at the Gala in Chicago on Wednesday, September 14.
"Our three honorees this year for the Court of Honor Awards, Roy Williams, Lon Kruger and Reggie Minton, are not only outstanding basketball coaches. They have been champions for numerous humanitarian efforts in their own communities and nationally," said Craig Robinson, NABC and NABC Foundation executive director.
The Court of Honor Award is presented to individuals who have roots in college basketball, values those roots, and have gone on to distinguish themselves in their profession, exhibiting the highest standards of leadership.
"Lon and Reggie have been pillars in the Coaches vs. Cancer program while Roy has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of many charities in the Chapel Hill area, including the Carolina Covenant, an initiative at North Carolina that allows low-income students to attend the University debt-free," said Robinson.
Court of Honor Award History
The inaugural Court of Honor Gala Experience was held in April 2009 in Chicago, where Jerry Colangelo, chairman of USA Basketball and the man who assembled the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic teams in 2008, 2012 and 2016 received the Court of Honor Award.
2010: Former Senator Bill Bradley, who combined distinguished careers in basketball, politics and government to become an iconic figure across America.
2011: Phil Knight, the chairman and co-founder of Nike, Inc., the world's largest sports and fitness company.
2013: Jim Nantz of CBS Sports, the multi-Emmy Award winning sportscaster and the voice of the NCAA® Men's Final Four®.
2014: Dick Vitale, ESPN college basketball analyst and the unofficial "ambassador" for the game.
2015: Legendary Hall of Fame coach John Thompson, Jr., who led Georgetown University to 10 BIG EAST titles and the 1984 NCAA championship.
2016: George Raveling, inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, head coach at Washington State, Iowa and USC and director of global basketball for Nike, Inc.
2017: Mike Krzyzewski, Hall of Fame head coach at Duke University, who guided the Blue Devils to five NCAA championships and is the all-time NCAA leader in career victories with 1,202.
2018: Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and John Rogers, chairman and CEO of Ariel Investments, longtime champions for education, literacy and national service.
2019: Syracuse University Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, who has spent his entire head coaching career at his alma mater and has 1,099 career victories.
No awards were presented in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
The Court of Honor Gala events were held in New York City after 2009.
Kruger, who was hired as Oklahoma's 14th head men's basketball coach on April 1, 2011, finished his 10-year OU career with a 195-128 (.604) record and finished his 35-year head coaching career with a 674-432 (.609) overall mark.The inaugural Court of Honor Gala Experience was held in April 2009 in Chicago, where Jerry Colangelo, chairman of USA Basketball and the man who assembled the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic teams in 2008, 2012 and 2016 received the Court of Honor Award.
2010: Former Senator Bill Bradley, who combined distinguished careers in basketball, politics and government to become an iconic figure across America.
2011: Phil Knight, the chairman and co-founder of Nike, Inc., the world's largest sports and fitness company.
2013: Jim Nantz of CBS Sports, the multi-Emmy Award winning sportscaster and the voice of the NCAA® Men's Final Four®.
2014: Dick Vitale, ESPN college basketball analyst and the unofficial "ambassador" for the game.
2015: Legendary Hall of Fame coach John Thompson, Jr., who led Georgetown University to 10 BIG EAST titles and the 1984 NCAA championship.
2016: George Raveling, inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, head coach at Washington State, Iowa and USC and director of global basketball for Nike, Inc.
2017: Mike Krzyzewski, Hall of Fame head coach at Duke University, who guided the Blue Devils to five NCAA championships and is the all-time NCAA leader in career victories with 1,202.
2018: Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and John Rogers, chairman and CEO of Ariel Investments, longtime champions for education, literacy and national service.
2019: Syracuse University Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, who has spent his entire head coaching career at his alma mater and has 1,099 career victories.
No awards were presented in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
The Court of Honor Gala events were held in New York City after 2009.
Kruger's 674 Division I wins are the 27th most all-time and were the 10th most among active coaches at the time of his retirement. His 195 victories at OU rank as the fourth most in program history.
Kruger became the first coach in NCAA Division I history to take five different schools to the NCAA Tournament and he is the only coach to win an NCAA Tournament game with five programs. He is also the only coach since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to take four programs to the Sweet 16 or beyond.
No stranger to the postseason, Kruger's teams reached 20 NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Sweet 16 five times and earning Final Four berths in 1994 (Florida) and 2016 (Oklahoma). He led the Sooners to seven NCAA Tournaments, two Sweet 16s and the 2016 Final Four. Under Kruger, Oklahoma produced six first-team All-Big 12 selections and 32 Academic All-Big 12 honors. Kruger's teams featured numerous stars and were highlighted by 2016 National Player of the Year Buddy Hield and 2018 National Freshman of the Year Trae Young.
Four Sooners were selected in the NBA Draft during Kruger's tenure and two were drafted among the top six picks (Hield and Young).
Prior to his time in Norman, Kruger served as the head coach at Texas-Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State (1986-90), Florida (1990-96), Illinois (1996-2000) and UNLV (2004-11). He also spent three years as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks (2000-03) and one year as a New York Knicks assistant (2003-04). Kruger directed all six college programs to 20-win seasons and took each of the last five to the NCAA Tournament.
Kruger spent seven years at UNLV and compiled a 161-71 (.694) record prior to his arrival in Norman. He coached the Runnin' Rebels to four NCAA Tournaments and revitalized a program that had made the NCAA Tournament only two times in the previous 15 seasons before Kruger's leadership.
Kruger spent four years as the Illinois head coach prior to his four-year stint in the NBA. His Illini teams were 81-48 and made the NCAA Tournament three times.
He spent the previous six seasons at Florida (1990-96) and led the Gators to the 1994 Final Four. The year prior to Kruger's arrival in Gainesville, the Gators finished 7-21. He became one of two head coaches to inherit two teams coming off a sub-.500 year and take both to the Final Four within their first five seasons as head coach.
Prior to his time at Florida, Kruger received his second collegiate head coaching job at his alma mater, Kansas State (1986-90). He finished his four-year stay in Manhattan with an 81-46 (.638) record and led all four teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Kruger started his coaching career at Texas-Pan American (now UTRGV) where he compiled a 52-59 record. He concluded his four-year tenure with a 20-8 record in his final season.
In 2019, Kruger was awarded the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award and in 2017 he was awarded the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Metropolitan Award for long and outstanding service to men's college basketball.
MBB Highlights: OU 82, Baylor 69
Saturday, April 04
Porter Moser, Xzayvier Brown, and Tae Davis Postgame vs Baylor
Saturday, April 04
Porter Moser and Nijel Pack Postgame vs Colorado
Thursday, April 02
MBB Highlights: OU 90, Colorado 86
Wednesday, April 01
