The reviews are in: Kruger one of the feel-good hires of the season
Published: 4/24/2011 11:42 PM
Last Modified: 4/24/2011 11:42 PM
Now that Miami has hired Jim Larranaga, all major college basketball coaching jobs have been filled (no offense, George Mason). Seems a decent time to review what happened at Oklahoma and elsewhere.
Larranaga to the Hurricanes? That's just bizarre. Same with Frank Haith to Missouri and Mark Gottfried to NC State.
Wait. Strike that. Gottfried to NC State is actually quite predictable, when you consider the bizarre state of mind of Wolfpack AD Debbie Yow.
Billy Gillispie to Texas Tech? Now that's sensible. So is Mike Anderson to Arkansas, on a lesser scale.
As for Lon Kruger to OU? See for yourself…
The only coaching hire Yahoo! columnist Jason King liked more than OU's of Kruger was Tech's of Gillispie, that rare perfect match.
"Sooner fans may have been a bit underwhelmed when the school announced it had plucked Kruger away from UNLV," King wrote. "Still, as much as this is a good hire, it's also a safe hire… The Sooners couldn't afford to take a chance on an up-and-comer this time. Kruger has been a winner everywhere he has been – and he'll win at Oklahoma, too.
"The question: On what level? And how fast?"
King preferred the Kruger hiring to Missouri's addition of Haith ("has done nothing to justify his hiring"), and even Arkansas' of Anderson ("hasn't accomplished enough to be a $2 million coach").
Here's another positive review, courtesy of Mike Strange of the Knoxville News Sentinel: "Lon Kruger wasn't the first choice, but he's a good one. He does nothing but win… The only knock is his age, 58. For what it's worth, Kruger seems a young 58."
Well, that's encouraging. Kruger will be a young 65 at the end of his OU contract.
I've saved the best critique for last. CBSSports.com blogger Eric Angevine graded the three coaching changes made in the Big 12 Conference. He gave Texas Tech a B, Missouri a D+ and OU an A-.
"Kruger is an excellent hire," Angevine wrote. "He seems to be a guy who is in complete control of any program he's coached, and there have been plenty of success stories in his time on the bench…
"In essence, the Sooners got a coach on the brink of his 500th victory in exchange for someone who still has a lot to learn. Kudos to Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione for going after the man he really wanted for the job and making it happen."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
