Oklahoma hires Lon Kruger

In a move that has surprised many in the college basketball community, the Oklahoma Sooners have hired former UNLV head coach Lon Kruger, as the new men’s basketball coach to replace the recently fired Jeff Capel.

Capel struggled over five seasons in Norman, compiling an overall record of 96-69 and failing to live up to the expectations of a program which has struggled in recent years, again failing to qualify for post-season play in 2011.

Lon Kruger brings a reputation to Oklahoma as an offense-first coach who should help the Sooners to mold their young talent into a competitive team again for the 2011-2012 season this coming fall.

According to reports, Kruger will make somewhere in the range of $2.2 to $2.3 million per year, placing his salary in line with other high-profile coaches in the Big 12 and across the country.

While Lon Kruger has bounced between several jobs in his coaching career, each move was calculated, and was made typically to help a struggling program again become competitive.

His stops at Kansas State, Florida and Illinois were all successful, as Kruger helped several teams deep into the NCAA tournament, including a Final Four appearance with the Florida Gators in 1994.

It’s interesting that Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione chose not to wait until the conclusion of the Final Four to potentially interview VCU’s Shaka Smart or Butler head coach Brad Stevens, two of the hottest young coaching prospects in the country.

It can only be assumed after Marquette coach Buzz Williams’ decision to stay put and not accept Oklahoma’s offer earlier in the week, that Castiglione didn’t want to further waste time and run the risk of a recruiting impact with no head coach in place when next Tuesday rolls around.

Either way, the Sooners have their man and will be full throttle toward regaining some respectability in the Big 12 basketball community and beyond.

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