Former Gators HC Lon Kruger Inducted into College Basketball Hall of Fame

Former Gators head coach Lon Kruger was honored for illustrious coaching career with National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame induction on Sunday.

Former Florida Gators head coach Lon Kruger was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

All of @GatorsMBK country congratulates Lon Kruger! pic.twitter.com/kqwcLOkVcb

— National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (@CBHOF) November 20, 2022

He joined eight other former staples in the college game in Kansas City for the induction ceremony, including former coaches John Beilein, Jim Calhoun, Jerry Krause and Roy Williams. Former players Richard Hamilton, Larry Miller, Frank Selvy and the late Jimmy Walker in the 2022 class.

Kruger was an integral piece to building the basketball program at the University of Florida to relevance in the 1990s and led the Gators to their first Final Four appearance in program history in 1994.

He held a 140-80 record over six seasons with the Gators and was a two-time SEC Coach of the Year.

Kruger was followed by fellow Florida great Billy Donovan, who capitalized on the foundation Kruger built to bring home the first and second national championship victories in Gators' history in back-to-back seasons. 

The Kansas native began his head coaching career with his alma mater Kansas State, where he found early success by taking the Wildcats to four tournament appearances in all four seasons. 

He is responsible for taking five different programs to the NCAA Tournament during his stints at Kansas State, Florida, UNLV, Illinois and Oklahoma.

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