OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger announced his retirement Thursday, ending a 35-year career that included taking five schools to the NCAA Tournament — with two of them reaching the Final Four — and more than 650 career wins.
The 68-year-old Kruger led Florida to the national semifinals in 1994 and Oklahoma to the same spot in 2016. He is the only coach to lead five programs to NCAA Tournament wins — Oklahoma, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV.
At 674-432, he leaves ranked 10th among active coaches in wins and 27th overall.
Kansas coach Bill Self was glad Kruger got to go out on his own terms.
"I have enjoyed competing against him at his different stops, but primarily at the University of Oklahoma where his teams were always classy and difficult to prepare for," Self said. "I know personally the respect he commands in our industry and I'm sure his former players, assistant coaches and everyone affiliated in his programs over time would attest to the way he went about his business."
He led the Sooners to a 195-128 record in 10 years and reached seven of the past eight NCAA tournaments. In his final season at Oklahoma, the Sooners went 16-11 and ended with a loss to top-seeded Gonzaga in the second round on Monday.
Along the way, he built a reputation for fixing struggling programs.
"His track record of successfully rebuilding programs everywhere he coached is made even more impressive when considering how he did it," Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said. "He won with integrity, humility, class and grace. He did it with superior leadership skills and a genuine kindness that included his constant encouragement of everyone around him."
