Kruger was once a diplomat the Hoyas could never be
Published: 8/25/2011 10:09 PM
Last Modified: 8/25/2011 10:09 PM
Thirty-eight years before the Georgetown Hoyas rumbled in their exhibition game in China, Lon Kruger experienced something far more peaceful. Far more important, too.
He was a Kansas State guard in the summer of 1973, and good enough to be selected to a college all-star team that played the Chinese in Beijing.
"That was the first U.S. athletic team that went into China, so tensions were pretty high," Kruger said from his Oklahoma coach's office the other day. "We didn't go in there with total comfort. No team had done it. We crossed the border and the guards were lined up with machine guns. We were saying, 'Are we sure this is OK? '"
Remember, President Nixon was just defrosting U.S.-Chinese relations at the time. It was hoped the exhibition would thaw things a little more.
If the team's introduction was a little nerve-racking, things calmed considerably once the team settled in. The trip turned out just fine.
"It was all very proper, very organized," Kruger said. "There were big ceremonies, big receptions. Everything was on a grand scale. The reception halls were huge."
When it came time for actual basketball, Kruger and the all-stars put on a show. A team that also featured OU youngster Alvan Adams, Indiana point guard Quinn Buckner and future NBA coach George Karl rolled, 88-59.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
