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NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL FOUR

March 28, 2016

Lon Kruger

Houston, Texas

DAVE WORLOCK: We have coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners. Coach, congratulations on advancing to the Final Four, your first since 1994. A great accomplishment. We look forward to having you in Houston.

We'll go ahead and get started with today's Q&A.

COACH KRUGER: Thank you.

Q. Obviously you're familiar with Khadeem's family situation with his grandmother and all. He'll get an opportunity to see her in this big event. This is his hometown. Thoughts about that situation.
COACH KRUGER: I'm very happy for Khadeem. Obviously to be in the Final Four is special anytime, but when you can go into your hometown, family and friends, just couldn't be more thrilled.

Christian James, another one of our players from that area, as well as Rashard Odomes from down the road a bit in Copperas Cove.

Three guys from that area. Very pleased. Couldn't be happier for them.

Q. I know you've talked about it before in years past, but coming back to Texas, discuss the world you were in when you got your first head coaching job down at UT PanAm and what you imagined would occur over the course of your career and how it has played out.
COACH KRUGER: I had no idea at the time. I had a great experience in the valley. Used to be PanAm; now it's Rio Grande Valley, University of Texas at Rio Grand Valley.

A special place there. Just enjoyed the people so much. I was 29 years old at the time. Didn't have any idea what lie ahead. It really did serve as a spring board, an opportunity. Enjoyed those four years.

Got back to Kansas State, my alma mater. Had enjoyable stops along the way. Great people.

Had no idea that I would never really have to work for a living. Could get up every day, enjoy the people around, thoroughly enjoy the players.

Been very fortunate, very blessed. Didn't have any idea back in 1982 when we got our first head job.

Q. The first season was by far the worst you've had. I assume you've improved since then as well.
COACH KRUGER: Well, it was record-wise the worst, I would imagine.

Really appreciated the effort. It was fun every day seeing those guys work hard, get better. We didn't win many times, but they set a foundation from which that program improved year after year.

Q. Since your first Final Four in 1994 you've had several jobs. Wondering what kept you moving job to job and why Oklahoma has been a good fit for you.
COACH KRUGER: Never really planned on moving job to job. Enjoyed every stop. Never thought about a next job.

Obviously those opportunities came along.

Oklahoma, back in the Midwest, really coming from Las Vegas, Barb and I loved it there. We loved living there. Really thought we would finish out living there. When Joe called, the more it felt like a good fit, getting back to the Midwest, back to the Big 12.

Great relationship here with Fred and Joe. Strong brand. Obviously very pleased to be here.

Q. Coach, everybody knows we're in a culture of one-and-done in college basketball. What has Buddy's success over four years say to high school kids coming into the college ranks in the years to come?
COACH KRUGER: Hopefully Buddy serves as a poster child for those guys that are thinking of coming out and are not sure. The sad part of all of that, the majority of guys that come out early don't play in the NBA. People see those that do.

But the value of coming back is not just to improve your draft status, but a year more mature, a year stronger, a year better player, a year better positioned to have success when you do go.

Buddy is a smart guy. He looked at his options, considered everything. He said, Hey, coach, a year from now I'm going to be a lot better. I'm going to be more mature. I'll be more able to secure a long career in the NBA. That's exactly what happened for Buddy. Couldn't be happier for him because he's worked so hard at it.

Again, he thought through it very carefully. Obviously his decision to come back has been great for our program, his teammates, and most importantly for Buddy himself.

Q. Coach, obviously this is a rematch from a game where you guys shot lights out. Villanova kind of the direct opposite when you got together in Hawaii. How difficult is it to have a rematch in this situation, and how much carryover, if any, do you view from that first meeting?
COACH KRUGER: Very little carryover. They're playing great. They're playing with tremendous confidence. They're shooting the ball well. They're playing with a swagger. Jay has done a fantastic job with them. Our guys know that. They've watched Villanova all year long, how much success they've had, how well they played.

The first game, being familiar with each other from a personnel standpoint, very little carryover. They're doing things differently. We're doing things differently. It's almost like we played them last year. It doesn't really relate to this game at all.

Q. What has Isaiah meant to you guys? Everybody talks about Buddy. Isaiah seems to have been a rock for you guys. There was doubt when he came to Oklahoma how much of an impact he would make.
COACH KRUGER: Isaiah has been huge. From his freshman year he's made so much progress. Started out as a good athlete that worked really, really hard. Every year improved his shooting. He's improved his ball handling, his feel for the game.

Being that big point guard that can explode out of the backcourt, push the pace, push the tempo, get into the paint, keep people honest in transition, but also step out and make threes.

He's had a big impact on us. We need him for the weekend, for sure.

Q. Is there one thing that's really stood out about what he's meant?
COACH KRUGER: Well, he played point a little bit as a freshman; more the wing in his sophomore and junior year. Now to move back to the point again, that really freed up Jordan Woodard to move over to the wing and shoot the ball extremely well and make plays from there.

Obviously Isaiah makes a lot of plays for Buddy; gets him the ball. He's a very, very good defender. Great balance; great quickness; extremely competitive.

He brings a lot of good qualities to the table.

Q. Coach, looking back on the Final Four run with your Florida teams, what would you say is the most important thing you've developed or evolved in your coaching style in the years since being able to bring to Oklahoma now?
COACH KRUGER: I think most importantly, you have really good players. That doesn't happen without good players.

Hopefully we all - coaches, teachers - learn a little bit of something from each year, each experience. I think putting players in a position where they can enjoy what they're doing, take advantage of their skills, have fun competing.

The culture is as important as anything else. We try to create that culture in which players love getting here, staying late, enjoying spending time with each other and their coaches. This group represents that as much as anything. They've put in an unbelievable amount of time on their own, before practice, after practice.

Again, their progress shows.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about being a perimeter-shooting team. You have had so many games where you've lit it up from three. Talk about the difference when the shots are falling for you and when they're not, how you have to adjust on the fly with that kind of a team.
COACH KRUGER: We're a team that shoots the three. We're not going to be able to change that overnight, nor do we want to. Obviously we've had better success when we've made threes than when we haven't.

Later in the year we've done a little better job. We've covered a little bit better. Rebounded the ball a little better to support on those nights when we haven't shot it as well.

Still we're a club that needs to shoot it well. We're a club that needs to get in transition, have some pace to the ballgame, create off the dribble for one another. Obviously, making threes is a big part of all of that.

Q. This season has been pretty wild in terms of all the different No. 1 teams. Now in the Final Four there's only one No. 1 seed, a No. 10 seed. Is that indicative of how open this season has been?
COACH KRUGER: Probably so. Maybe more than any previous year, it seems like there were really upsets because there's so much balance, so many good teams, so many good players. Probably as difficult of a seeding year as any could be.

But, yeah, especially in the early games, the number of close games, the number of upsets, perceived upsets. Fun tournament. Been great to watch.

There's so many good players, so many good teams. I think that makes it even more special to have a chance for these guys to play in the Final Four in a year where a lot of people could get there and everything was so competitive.

Q. Would you discuss the logistics of what goes on in trying to prepare your schedule for the Final Four for this week. In the years since you've been to the Final Four, it's changed even more. You have a challenge of getting a team ready for a game, yet there are a lot of obligations this week.
COACH KRUGER: There are, and that's a good thing. We want to protect the players as much as we can in terms of their preparation. But the coaching staff, of course there's a lot of things that go on that the players don't know about. That's good.

Yeah, it's a fun week. It's a crazy week. But honored to be a part of it. The media obligations, opportunities, are certainly a big part of that. It's a great event. We understand all that goes on around the basketball game.

Again, just happy to be a part of that. Look forward to the week ahead.

DAVE WORLOCK: Coach, congratulations to you and your team. Safe travels down to Houston. We'll see you in a couple days.

COACH KRUGER: Thanks very much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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