Toby Keith sings Kruger's praises
Published: 5/23/2011 9:06 AM
Last Modified: 5/23/2011 9:06 AM
Seems right to ask Oklahoma's most prominent basketball fan about the new coach.
"Looove Lon Kruger," Toby Keith told me Saturday morning. "Lon Kruger is a perfect hire. I know people have been chattering about who we should have hired and whether we should have fired Jeff Capel, the pros and cons. But the fence-sitters have already converted to Lon's side."
This isn't some passing fancy. Keith takes OU hoops very seriously. He showed up to watch last year's team, taking his customary seat under the south basket, much more often than most fans did. As we talked before he played Belmar for his OK Kids Corral benefit golf tournament, he rattled off the names of the players Kruger had signed since taking over.
"They're the kind of guys that will make a difference on this team immediately," Keith said. "I don't know if we had that (under Capel) coming in immediately. One way or another, he's hit the street here in about a month and made changes that are going to make a difference.
"He's won everywhere he's been. He's no BS. They're going to play hard defense and do what they do."
Here's how sold Keith is on Kruger: After hosting Saturday's golf outing, he was scheduled to hop on a plane and fly to Las Vegas to play in the Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Classic as a guest of Kruger, who chaired the event.
The story goes that Keith was playing golf in Vegas the day news leaked that OU was hiring Kruger, out at Shadow Creek for Michael Jordan's celebrity tournament. Cell phones started blowing up all over the course that the Runnin Rebels were losing their coach, and UNLV boosters started pressing the Sooners' superfan for the scoop.
Keith swore he knew nothing. But needless to say, he was encouraged by the possibility, given the reaction of Rebel fans that day.
The possibility was, in fact, reality. The Sooners had found their coach. And their biggest fan?
Still very encouraged.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
