Kruger leaves UNLV, heads to Oklahoma

As the clock ticked toward midnight Thursday, Lon Kruger said he expected to return as UNLV's basketball coach. Sometime after dawn, he had an unexpected change of heart and mind.

Kruger, 58, accepted an offer Friday to become coach at Oklahoma, which will essentially double his salary.

"I really said 'no' all week," Kruger said. "I said 'no' and I said 'no,' and finally it did go that way."

He was gone to the Sooners by about noon and signed his new deal by late afternoon.

Kruger said Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione was "very persistent." Castiglione upped the ante, and Kruger agreed to a seven-year contract worth about $2.2 million per year.

"It has been a crazy last few hours," Kruger said from Texas, where he was attending the Final Four in Houston before meeting with Castiglione and University of Oklahoma president David Boren in Dallas.

"I would be lying if I didn't say money was a consideration. But it was not only money. It was the challenge and the opportunity. It was very enticing. I had no plans to leave. I've never planned to leave any job."

Kruger had two years remaining on his deal at UNLV, where he was making about $1.1 million per year. His contract included a $500,000 buyout clause.

He boarded a flight to Las Vegas for a late-night meeting with the Rebels' players at the Thomas & Mack Center. Only five players attended the brief meeting, and then Kruger talked to a large media gathering.

"It has been a very enjoyable seven years, and really it's very difficult to move on," Kruger said. "The players, and the relationships at UNLV and with the people in Las Vegas, it made the decision very difficult."

UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood was in Houston and did not comment on Kruger's departure.

Kruger just completed his seventh season at UNLV, with a 161-71 record. The Rebels (24-9) finished third in the Mountain West Conference and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years.

Kruger guided UNLV to the Sweet 16 in 2007. The Rebels defeated Georgia Tech and Wisconsin en route to a 30-7 season, Kruger's high point in his tenure in Las Vegas.

"I thought Lon did a great job here," former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian said. "His teams always played hard, and they were very competitive. He also did a great job off the floor. He was good with people. He was good with me and a lot of guys who played for me."

Two of Tarkanian's former players are considered the leading candidates to replace Kruger.

Brigham Young associate head coach Dave Rice, a player on the Rebels' 1990 NCAA championship team, has already met with Livengood. Rice spent 11 seasons as an assistant at UNLV.

Tarkanian said he would recommend Reggie Theus as Kruger's successor. Theus starred for the Rebels from 1975 to 1978, leading the program to its first Final Four in 1977.

Theus, an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was an NBA head coach for the Sacramento Kings in 2007-08. He also was head coach at New Mexico State.

"I think Reggie would be a great choice," Tarkanian said. "I recommend Reggie very highly. He would be here for life. If they don't hire him, it will be a joke."

With four starters returning, plus the additions of UCLA transfer Mike Moser and Marquette transfer Reggie Smith, the Rebels should be in position to contend for the league title in 2011-12.

Livengood is likely to move swiftly in hiring a coach, though he faces financial constraints with the school in a budget crisis.

"I know Jim is pretty aggressive with these types of things, and I'm sure we'll move pretty quick," UNLV deputy athletic director Jerry Koloskie said.

During his stay at UNLV, where he stabilized the program and returned it to respectability, Kruger was repeatedly linked to several coaching vacancies. Last year, he turned down a lucrative offer from Oregon.

Oklahoma fired coach Jeff Capel on March 14 after back-to-back losing seasons and in the midst of an NCAA investigation that began in May. Kruger faces a major rebuilding job with the Sooners' program.

San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said Kruger, who has Big 12 Conference roots as a player and coach at Kansas State, is a "great fit" in Norman, Okla.

"When you go into a job like UNLV, with the legacy it has, one created by Tarkanian and undefeated teams and a national championship, you'll always have those who think they should be in the Final Four every year. That's not realistic, not with the landscape today," Fisher said from Houston. "But you know going in that some who don't understand the business will have those kind of expectations.

"Lon is the man I would want my son to play for. He is the person you want to live next door to. He is a superb basketball coach. He brought back respectability to the UNLV program. He did a great, great job. My guess is all he did there won't be fully appreciated until he is gone."

In a moment of reflection before moving forward, Kruger said he "appreciated the opportunity" to lead the program.

"Being the coach at UNLV is a special opportunity, and it means a lot," he said. "This is a special situation with the tradition, the history, Coach Tark and the great teams and great fans. I appreciated being a part of that.

"Seven years have gone by very quickly, and we've absolutely loved it."

Review-Journal columnist Ed Graney contributed to this report. Contact Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.