Lon Kruger Hometown: Silver Lake, Kan. Last College: Kansas State '75 Position: Head Coach Birthdate: 08/19/1952 Experience: 5th Year

Longtime collegiate and NBA basketball coach Lon Kruger completed his fourth year as the Runnin' Rebels' head coach in 2007-08, compiling an overall 91-42 mark (.684), after finishing a season that kept the program in the national spotlight.

Hired at UNLV on March 15, 2004, as the 10th full-time head coach in UNLV men's basketball history, Kruger's first two Runnin' Rebel teams showed positive signs of progress under his leadership - progress that has paid off over the past two seasons in Las Vegas.

Kruger has led the Runnin' Rebels to records of 30-7 and 27-8, over the last two seasons as UNLV made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2007. The back-to-back Big Dance showings for UNLV marked the first time that the Runnin' Rebels made repeat trips in consecutive years to the NCAA Tournament since 1990 and 1991.

Getting to the NCAA Tournament is one thing, but winning is another, and the Runnin' Rebels have done just that, logging three wins over the last two years - two in 2007 with the Sweet 16 appearance and one in 2008, falling to eventual national champion Kansas in the second round this past March.

Just prior to leading the squad to back-to-back Mountain West Conference Tournament championships this past season, Kruger was named the MWC Coach of the Year along with the United States Basketball Writers Association's District VIII Coach of the Year. The consecutive MWC Tournament titles for UNLV marked the first since 1990 and 1991 and was the first time in MWC history that a school repeated as the conference's tournament champion.

Over the past two seasons, Kruger has led the team to a 57-15 mark (.792) and the program's 57 victories over that span ranks ninth in the country among teams that have played in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. It also ranks as the second-most wins over the last two years among teams in the West, only behind UCLA.

Protecting UNLV's home court at the Thomas & Mack Center is something Kruger stresses and his team has responded. Over the last two years, UNLV has recorded a 38-3 mark at home, which includes streaks of 19- and 15-straight games (the 15 straight is still active and is the 11th-longest in the country). The Runnin' Rebels have also won 24 straight games against MWC opponents at the TMC, a streak they will carry into next season.

Kruger, who was a finalist for the 2007-08 USBWA Henry Iba Award, which is presented to the national coach of the year, surprised many with his team's 2007-08 performance. Not only did UNLV lose four starters off its 2007 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 team, but also the top player off the bench, who was the 2006-07 MWC Defensive Player of the Year (Joel Anthony - currently with the NBA's Miami Heat). The 2007-08 squad was also without 62 percent of the scoring, rebounding and minutes played from the previous year's team. Kruger also worked his magic with just a 10-man roster and won with a lineup that averaged 6-feet, 4.5-inches tall and whose tallest starter was only 6-foot-7-inches.

Kruger, who earned his milestone 400th career win on Feb. 9, 2007, with a 68-51 victory over Colorado State at the Thomas & Mack Center, has led UNLV to back-to-back seasons with at least 27 wins for the first time since 1989-90 and 1990-91. In addition, UNLV has won 34 conference games over the last three seasons (10 in 2005-06, 12 in 2006-07 and 12 in 2007-08), which is the program's highest three-year total since 1991-94.

Kruger's third season at UNLV catapulted the program back onto the national stage. UNLV's 2007 Sweet 16 appearance marked the program's first since 1991, and the 2006-07 squad became only the fifth team in UNLV men's basketball history to reach 30 wins in a season. The team was ranked in both major polls for the first time since 1993 and won the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship for the first time since 2000.

Finishing the season with UNLV's best record since reaching the Final Four in 1991, the team was ranked 14th in the country in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. All of this from a team that was picked to finish fifth in the MWC by the media that year before the season began.

The 2007 NCAA Tournament marked UNLV's first since 2000, but the program had gone 15 years without a win in the Big Dance. That all changed when the Runnin' Rebels, the seven-seed in the Midwest Region, marched past 10th-seeded Georgia Tech and second-seeded Wisconsin in Chicago.

Kruger became just the second coach in school history to win an NCAA Tournament game and with his 10th career trip to the Big Dance as a head coach, he became just the fifth man in college basketball history to take four different schools to the NCAA Tournament. He is just the fourth coach in NCAA Tournament history to take three different programs to the Sweet 16 since the field was expanded to 64 teams and is one of just three coaches to win at least one game in the tournament with four different schools. Kruger has led 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament, has a 14-11 record in those games, and is 8-3 all-time in first-round games, including wins in each of the last five. With UNLV's second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008, Kruger became just the second head man in college basketball history to lead at least four different schools to multiple NCAA appearances.

UNLV finished tied for sixth in the country in total wins in 2006-07 and became the first team in the history of the Mountain West Conference to reach 30 victories in a season. The team also defeated four ranked teams, the program's most in a season in 16 years.

2006-07 also marked a return of dominance by UNLV at home as it recorded a 19-1 record at the TMC, including wins in each of its last 17 games at home.

During MWC action in both 2007 and 2008, UNLV finished second in the standings with identical 12-4 league marks, and have recorded two straight seasons with perfect home marks (8-0) in conference play for the first time since the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. Additionally, the 12 conference wins for UNLV was the most in a season by the Runnin' Rebels in 14 years.

Kruger, who is entering his fifth season in Las Vegas, took over a program at UNLV in 2004 that had gone through a period of significant instability, with nine different head coaches in the previous 13 seasons. Over that span, the program made just two NCAA Tournament appearances, both first-round losses.

During his first two years in charge of the Runnin' Rebel program, Kruger constructed a foundation for success and his teams demonstrated characteristics that Kruger-led squads have always shown: unselfishness, teamwork, toughness and a positive attitude geared toward continual improvement throughout the season. Those teams recorded overall marks of 17-14 and 17-13, respectively.

His 2004-05 team was invited to the National Invitation Tournament and advanced to the second round, while the 2005-06 squad won 10 MWC games, which equaled the UNLV record for most wins in MWC action to that point.

In July of 2007, he was honored by Las Vegas radio station ESPN 920 as its 2007 Sportsman of the Year.

Kruger has cemented his place in history as college basketball's greatest change agent after he took UNLV back to the NCAA Tournament and its run to the Sweet 16. Five times Kruger has taken over a college basketball program and five times - within at least four years each time - his programs have reigned victorious. It is arguably the most-proven track record of raising programs by one coach.

A veteran of two-plus decades as a head coach on the collegiate and professional levels, Kruger came to Las Vegas after a four-year stint in the NBA. Following 18 years as one of the nation's most successful college coaches, Kruger spent three seasons (2000-03) as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and then part of the 2003-04 season as an assistant with the New York Knicks.

At the collegiate level, Kruger has compiled an impressive 409-275 overall mark in 22 seasons as a head coach at Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State (1986-90), Florida (1990-96), Illinois (1996-2000) and UNLV (2004-present).

His ability to build programs is also evident in the fact that he has led all five of the schools he has coached to 20-win seasons.

Kruger, 55, has guided his teams to the postseason on 14 different occasions, with 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and three in the NIT. He has compiled nine 20-plus victory seasons, was a two-time SEC Coach of the Year (1992 and 1994) and led his 1993-94 Florida squad to the NCAA Final Four.

At Illinois, Kruger led the Illini to three NCAA Tournament second-round appearances in his four seasons and compiled an 81-48 mark (.628).

In his first season at Illinois, Kruger guided the Illini to a 22-10 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten Conference after the team had recorded a ninth-place finish the previous year. In his second season, Kruger took a group of players that was picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten and led the Illini to the school's first Big Ten Championship since 1984. That team posted a second-straight 20-win season with a 23-10 record.

Kruger's third Illini team returned no starters and the Big Ten's youngest and most inexperienced team faced the second-toughest schedule in the nation (Sagarin ratings). That team recorded five wins against ranked opponents and came within one game of the NCAA Tournament by falling to No. 2 Michigan State in the conference championship. Kruger's last Illinois squad finished 22-10 and again made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

During his six-year stint at Florida, Kruger transformed the Gators from a program that was not a factor in the SEC race to a team that posted a single-season school-record 29 wins and went on to postseason play four times.

The year before Kruger took over the program (1989-90), Florida finished 7-21 overall and 3-15 in the SEC. In six seasons in Gainesville, Kruger twice led the Gators to the NIT and twice to the NCAA Tournament. His crowning achievement came in 1994 when he directed UF to a 29-8 mark and a trip to the NCAA Final Four.

Before his time at Florida, Kruger coached at his alma mater. In four years at Kansas State, he led the Wildcats to a school-record four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and an 81-46 (.638) record. His 1988 Wildcat squad ranks as one of the school's all-time best teams as it compiled a 25-9 mark, tying the school record for wins in a season and coming within one game of reaching the Final Four.

Early in his career Kruger established himself as one of the nation's best young coaches. He began his head coaching career in South Texas at Pan American, where he guided a major turnaround in the program. Before Kruger arrived, Pan Am had won only five games (1982) and after a first-season seven-win year, Kruger's squad posted double-digit wins in three straight seasons, including a 20-8 record in his final campaign (1985-86).

Kruger's coaching career began as a graduate assistant coach at Pittsburg State (1976-77) in Pittsburg, Kan. He then was a graduate assistant coach at Kansas State in 1977-78, before becoming an assistant coach for the Wildcats (1978-82).

When Kruger returned to his alma mater in 1986 as the school's basketball coach, the immediate success that followed was typical of that which took place when he played for the Wildcats. Kansas State was 61-22 (.735) with Kruger in uniform and combining his coaching marks at the school, Kruger was part of 142 wins, against 67 losses (.679) while part of the KSU program.

As a player, the native of Silver Lake, Kan., helped lead the Wildcats to back-to-back Big Eight Conference titles in 1972 and 1973. After being touted as the Big Eight's Sophomore of the Year in 1972, he was honored as the league's best player in 1973 and 1974. He ranks 14th on the school's career scoring list with 1,063 career points and has the fourth-best career free throw percentage (.826) in school history. As a senior, he averaged 17.6 points per game and is tied for 16th on the school's career scoring average list with a 13.3 points per game average. His best single-game scoring total was 37 points vs. Colorado as a senior.

Kruger was selected to the all-time Big Eight Team (third team) and was named "Mr. Hustle" all-time in the Big Eight. An Academic All-American as a senior, he also earned All-Big Eight academic honors three times and was the first player to capture Kansas State's coveted Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player Award three times.

On Feb. 8, 2006, Kruger was honored during a halftime ceremony at a Kansas State men's basketball game by having his No. 12 jersey retired.

Kruger was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the ninth round of the 1974 NBA Draft. He also starred on the baseball diamond for Kansas State and was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1970 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1974. During his Wildcat baseball career he posted his best season in 1971 when he went 4-3 as a pitcher (3-1 in Big Eight games) and had an earned run average of 3.33. He struck out 38 and walked 14 in 46 innings.

An all-around athlete, Kruger even got some football notice after graduating from KSU when the Dallas Cowboys invited him to their 1974 rookie camp as a quarterback.

A prep standout at Silver Lake High School, Kruger lettered all four years in football, basketball and baseball. As a senior, he averaged 23 points per game in leading his team to the state basketball tournament, passed for 2,079 yards and 23 touchdowns in nine football games and led the baseball team to the state tournament as a pitcher/infielder. In 2006, Kruger was honored by being inducted into the Topeka and Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.

Now, Kruger spreads most of his athletic talents around golf courses, as he is an avid golfer with a five handicap.

Born on Aug. 19, 1952, Kruger graduated from Kansas State in 1975 with a degree in business and earned his master's degree in physical education from Pittsburg State in 1977.

He and his wife, Barbara, have two children: daughter Angie, who is a medical school graduate from the University of Florida and is currently a third-year resident in Gainesville, and son Kevin, who graduated from Arizona State University and played at UNLV for his senior season, starting at point guard in 2006-07 for his father's squad. This past season, Kevin played for the NBA Development League's Utah Flash.

Kruger has been involved in a host of charities, especially the Coaches vs. Cancer program that is sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. This past May, Kruger was instrumental in starting the Coaches vs. Cancer's Las Vegas Classic, which raised $152,000 in its first year to benefit research, education and treatment programs for the Nevada Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.

While at Florida, the Krugers were honored with consecutive Community Service Awards from the Gainesville Community Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse, and in 1995 he was named the Gainesville (Fla.) Volunteer of the Year. From 1991-93, the couple served as co-chairpersons of Alachua County's Red Ribbon Campaign, a week-long program aimed at increasing awareness and promoting a drug-free environment for the community.

During the Krugers' stay in Atlanta, Barbara was also heavily involved in charity work, especially "My House," a transitional home for children 1-3 years old.

Now in Las Vegas, she is on the board of directors for Safe Nest, a domestic violence shelter, is a member of the Las Vegas Paradise Sertoma Club, which provides educational scholarships for the deaf and she is also a sustaining member of the Junior League. Additionally, she is involved with PEO Sisterhood and the Krugers spend time helping the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.

Coach Kruger is involved with many causes in Las Vegas and assists, among others, the NCI and the ACS, the Clark County School District, Southern Nevada Health District with childhood obesity, the City of Las Vegas recreation and youth sports, the NPHY and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

THE KRUGER FILE
Born: August 19, 1952
Hometown: Silver Lake, Kan.
High School: Silver Lake (Kan.), 1970
Education: Kansas State, B.S., 1975
Pittsburg State, M.S., 1977
Coaching Exp.: UNLV - Head Coach, 2004-present
New York Knicks - Asst. Coach, 2003-04
Atlanta Hawks - Head Coach, 2000-03
Illinois - Head Coach, 1996-00
Florida - Head Coach, 1990-96
Kansas State - Head Coach, 1986-90
Pan American - Head Coach, 1982-86
Kansas State - Asst. Coach, 1979-82
Kansas State - Grad. Asst. Coach, 1977-78
Pittsburg State - Grad. Asst. Coach, 1976-77
Playing Exp.: Kansas State, 1971-74

CAREER COLLEGE RECORD

YEAR	SCHOOL	OVERALL	CONFERENCE	CONF. FINISH	POSTSEASON
1982-83	Pan American	7-21 (.250)
1983-84	Pan American	13-14 (.481)
1984-85	Pan American	12-16 (.429)
1985-86	Pan American	20-8 (.714)
Pan American Total (4 years)		52-59 (.468)
1986-87	Kansas State	20-11 (.645)	8-6 (.571)	4th	NCAA (1-1)
1987-88	Kansas State	25-9 (.735)	11-3 (.786)	2nd	NCAA (3-1)
1988-89	Kansas State	19-11 (.633)	8-6 (.571)	3rd	NCAA (0-1)
1989-90	Kansas State	17-15 (.531)	7-7 (.500)	4th	NCAA (0-1)
Kansas State Total (4 years)		81-46 (.638)	34-22 (.607)
1990-91	Florida	11-17 (.392)	7-11 (.389)	6th
1991-92	Florida	19-14 (.575)	9-7 (.563)	2nd - East	NIT (3-2)
1992-93	Florida	16-12 (.571)	9-7 (.563)	3rd - East	NIT (0-1)
1993-94	Florida	29-8 (.784)	12-4 (.750)	T1st - East	NCAA Final Four (4-1)
1994-95	Florida	17-13 (.567)	8-8 (.500)	3rd - East	NCAA (0-1)
1995-96	Florida	12-16 (.429)	6-10 (.375)	5th - East
Florida Total (6 years)		104-80 (.565)	51-47 (.520)
1996-97	Illinois	22-10 (.688)	11-7 (.611)	T4th	NCAA (1-1)
1997-98	Illinois	23-10 (.697)	13-3 (.813)	T1st	NCAA (1-1)
1998-99	Illinois	14-18 (.438)	3-13 (.188)	11th
1999-00	Illinois	22-10 (.688)	11-5 (.688)	5th	NCAA (1-1)
Illinois Total (4 years)		81-48 (.628)	38-28 (.576)
2004-05	UNLV	17-14 (.548)	7-7 (.500)	T4th	NIT (1-1)
2005-06	UNLV	17-13 (.567)	10-6 (.625)	4th
2006-07	UNLV	30-7 (.811)	12-4 (.750)	2nd	NCAA (2-1)
2007-08	UNLV	27-8 (.771)	12-4 (.750)	2nd	NCAA (1-1)
UNLV Total (4 years)		91-42 (.684)	41-21 (.661)
College Total (22 years)		409-275 (.598)	164-118 (.582)

CAREER NBA RECORD

YEAR	TEAM	OVERALL REC.
2000-01	Atlanta Hawks	25-57 (.305)
2001-02	Atlanta Hawks	33-49 (.402)
2002-03	Atlanta Hawks	11-16 (.407)
NBA Total (3 years)		69-122 (.361)

ALL-TIME COACHES LEADING THREE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT'S SWEET 16
(since field expanded to 64 teams)

Lon Kruger * (Kansas State, Florida, UNLV)
Rick Pitino * (Providence, Kentucky, Louisville)
Bill Self * (Tulsa, Illinois, Kansas)
Tubby Smith * (Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky)

ALL-TIME COACHES LEADING FOUR DIFFERENT SCHOOLS TO NCAA TOURNAMENT WINS

Jim Harrick (Pepperdine, UCLA, Rhode Island, Georgia)
Lon Kruger * (Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV)
Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma St.)

ALL-TIME COACHES LEADING FOUR DIFFERENT SCHOOLS TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

Lefty Driesell (Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, Ga. St.)
Jim Harrick (Pepperdine, UCLA, Rhode Island, Georgia)
Lon Kruger * (Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV)
Rick Pitino * (Boston, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville)
Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma St.)

ALL-TIME COACHES LEADING FOUR DIFFERENT SCHOOLS TO MULTIPLE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES

Jim Harrick (Pepperdine, UCLA, Rhode Island, Georgia)
Lon Kruger * (Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV)

* active coaches

COACHING HONORS

MWC Coach of the Year, 2008
USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year, 2008
One of 12 finalists for the USBWA National Coach of the Year Award, 2008
ESPN 920 (LV Radio Station) Sportsman of the Year, 2007
Inducted into the Topeka and Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame, 2006
Inducted into the Kansas State University Hall of Fame, 2003
Selected to the NABC Silver Anniversary Team, 1999
Inducted into the state of Kansas Hall of Fame, 1999
State of Illinois Collegiate Coach of the Year, 1997
One of 12 finalists for Naismith National Coach of the Year Award, 1994
SEC Coach of the Year (AP & Coaches' choice), 1992 & 1994
NABC District Coach of the Year, 1988 & 1994

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Assistant Coach - 1998 USA World Championship team (bronze medal)
Head Coach - 1991 USA Junior World Championship Team (gold medal) and 1995 USA World University Games Team (gold medal)
Appointed by NCAA to serve on the USA Basketball Games Committee
Served on USA Basketball Subcommittee that selected college developmental squad to scrimmage against USA Olympic Dream Team
Head Coach - 1987 Big Eight Select Team in Beijing, China
Assistant Coach - 1983 U.S. Pan American Team (gold medal)
Played on 1973 U.S. Team (toured China)

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE

National Association of Basketball Coaches Board of Directors, 1994-2000
Athletics Director at Pan American, 1982-85

PLAYING HONORS

No. 12 Jersey retired at Kansas State University, 2006
AP all-time Big Eight Team (third team and Mr. Hustle)
Big Eight Player of the Year, 1973 & 1974
KSU Captain, 1973, 1974
KSU Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player, 1972, 1973 & 1974
Played in Aloha All-Star Classic, 1974
Played in East-West All-Star Classic, 1974
Member of Big Eight Championship Team, 1972 & 1973
Member of NCAA Tournament Regional Finalist, 1972 & 1973
Big Eight Sophomore of the Year, 1972

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS EXPERIENCE

NBA's Detroit Pistons Training Camp, 1975
European Professional League (Tel Aviv, Israel), 1974-75
Drafted by NBA's Atlanta Hawks, 1974
Drafted by MLB's St. Louis Cardinals, 1974
NFL's Dallas Cowboy Rookie Camp Invitee, 1974
Drafted by MLB's Houston Astros, 1970

ACADEMIC HONORS

Academic All-American, 1974
All-Big Eight Academic Honor Roll, 1973, 1974
Kansas State Dean's Honor Roll, 1973, 1974

To access the complete 2007-08 media guide bio, click here.