Don't let Kruger fool you -- his homecoming was a pretty big deal
Published: 1/28/2012 10:36 PM
Last Modified: 1/28/2012 10:36 PM
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Cool story leaving Bramlage Coliseum after Oklahoma's upset of Kansas State…
OU coach Lon Kruger downplayed the significance of his homecoming as much in postgame as he had in the days leading up to the game. He doesn't care much for attention, whether talking to beat writers after a routine practice, or to an interview room full of cameras after the biggest win of his rookie year with the Sooners.
About all he would cop to was: "It was nice to see a lot of friends, a lot of faces that are very familiar and very friendly."
Here's the thing, though: The smile on Kruger's face as he greeted one purple-dressed fan after another several minutes before tipoff gave him away. He was treated quite well – he drew polite applause when his name was introduced at halftime along with assistant Steve Henson's – and you could tell he appreciated it. He even stuck around to chat up a pack of fans seated a few rows behind the official scorers' table after his postgame duties.
It meant a lot to be back.
Even nicer, it meant a lot for OU's players to win on the night their coach came back.
"It meant a lot for me," point guard Sam Grooms confirmed. "You've playing for a coach that was a bigtime player. You come back to his old stomping grounds, you want to win for him so he can have a little bragging rights. I don't know if anybody else thought about it, but I did. I wanted to win for him."
"Sometimes in film study he doesn't say 'Big 12,' he says 'Big Eight,'" teased guard Steven Pledger. "This is where he used to rock out on the court. It's great to win for him."
Forward Romero Osby made sure he snapped a picture of Kruger's No. 12 jersey hanging high above the end zone seats at Bramlage.
"It shows how great he was as a player," Osby said. "It's a tribute to him. I told my girlfriend I saw that. It's good to see how good a player he was back in the day."
Kruger was seated between Pledger and Grooms when they made their comments. He laughed quietly at Pledger's remark, and grinned throughout. That was telling as well.
Kruger wasn't THE story Saturday night. Pledger, with 30 points, and the OU players were. They're the ones who battled to their biggest win of the season. But he drew his share of attention.
Even if it wasn't as big a deal to him as winning, it was will very nice to see.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
