Coach Lon Kruger
Head Coach - UNLV Runnin' Rebels Basketball
When it comes to building and revitalizing college basketball programs, Lon Kruger has few peers. The UNLV head basketball coach has cemented his place as the most successful change agent in college basketball history. Five times Kruger has taken over a program in need of rejuvenating and five times his programs have reigned victorious after he changed their respective cultures, and all within a period of just four years.
Kruger is one of only four coaches (along with Rick Pitino, Bill Self and Tubby Smith) to have led three different schools to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament expanded its field to 64 teams. In his 25 seasons as a head college basketball coach, Kruger has amassed over 450 career wins and has guided his teams to the NCAA Tournament 12 times.
During the past six years, Kruger has resurrected the slumbering UNLV Runnin' Rebel program. Not only has he led the Runnin' Rebels to three of the last four NCAA Tournaments (after the program had only appeared in two NCAA Tournaments over a 15-year span), he has also helped to revitalize Las Vegas as a basketball city as fans are once again packing the famed Thomas & Mack Center for Runnin' Rebel games.
Prior to taking over at UNLV, Kruger had served as head coach of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks as well as in the college ranks at Florida (he led the Gators to the Final Four in 1994), Kansas State (he led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in 1988), Illinois (three NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons) and Texas Pan-American (where he became head coach at just 28 years of age).
In his book The Xs & Os of Success: A Playbook for Leaders in Business and Life, Kruger lays out his principles for taking over cultures seeking stability and direction and changing them into positive, successful environments that bring out the very best in people. These are lessons that are easily applied in the field of business...and in life.
The book — which highlights the parallels between coaching a sports team and leading others in non-sports settings — consists of 40, five-minute lessons conducive to leadership, life and teamwork. It uses sports as a way to tell the story and a way to make things tangible.
Kruger does an outstanding job of weaving his own basketball coaching experiences into quick-moving examples of his performance and leadership principles. After reading his lessons or hearing him present, you come away with an excellent understanding of why Lon Kruger is not only such an outstanding coach and person but also a brilliant motivator of people.
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"The Xs & Os of Success" has become much more than just a book — it's a playbook for leaders in business and life. Coach Lon Kruger and co-author D.J. Allen bring the lessons from the book to life through interactive, customizable and fun-learning events to help any organization (big or small). From keynote addresses to unique roundtable conversations, we can develop a program customized to fit your needs.
Allen, who holds an MBA and whose company was honored as the 2009 Small Business of the Year by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, brings a unique element to Kruger's presentations. By combining his personal relationship with Kruger as well as his experiences from his 15-plus years in the business world, he is able to speak directly to Kruger's philosophies from a business perspective. Attendees leave the presentations with realistic strategies and tactics that can be implemented immediately to improve organizations.
