UCLA Bruins

Oklahoma's Lon Kruger to receive Legends of Coaching honor

Published Oct. 9, 2018 6:27 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oklahoma's Lon Kruger will receive the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching honor next spring.

The award is given annually to college basketball coaches who exemplify the late UCLA legend's standard of success and personal integrity. Kruger was announced as the recipient on Tuesday.

He will be recognized on April 12 at the College Basketball Awards in Los Angeles.

Kruger is entering his eighth season at Oklahoma, where he is 140-91. He is the first Division I coach to take five different schools to the NCAA Tournament.

The 66-year-old coach has a career record of 619-395, with stints at Texas-Pan American, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV and Oklahoma. He ranks 10th among active coaches in victories.

Kruger's college teams have made the 17 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. He guided Florida to a Final Four appearance in 1994 and took Oklahoma there in 2016.

Previous winners of the award include Roy Williams of Kansas, Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, Tara VanDerveer of Stanford and the late Dean Smith of North Carolina.