Lon Kruger to be inducted into College Basketball Hall of Fame

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WIBW) - Former Kansas State player and head coach Lon Kruger is set to be inducted to the National College Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022.

As a point guard, he led the Wildcats to back-to-back Big Eight Championships in 1972 and 1973. He was named the Big Eight Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974, and also played shortstop for the Kansas State Baseball team.

Kruger, a Silver Lake native, was the 9th overall pick to the Atlanta Hawks in the 1974 NBA Draft. He played professionally in Israel, and also played a season of Minor League Baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, and was even invited to training camp with the Dallas Cowboys as a quarterback.

Kruger served as head basketball coach of the Wildcats from 1986 to 1990. He led them to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, and the Elite Eight in 1988.

He then held head coaching jobs with Florida and Illinois, and went back to the NBA as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2000-2003. He then went back to college coaching with UNLV and Oklahoma before retiring in March, 2021.

He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1994. Kruger is joined in the Class of 2022 by former KU head coach Roy Williams.

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