Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Mr. Sutton and Mr. Iba
Oklahoma State basketball Coach Eddie Sutton took the win over Missouri tonight to match his mentor, Henry Iba, for seventh place on the all-time wins list for Division I. (And Bird was there!)
Mr. Iba had 767 career victories and sits in seventh place on the all-time wins list. It was quite an achievement for Coach Sutton, who played for Mr. Iba from 1955-58, and was a graduate assistant coach for the Iron Duke during the 1958-59 season.
The following is from the Oklahoma Historical Society:
For more than four decades, Henry P. "Hank" Iba reigned as the "Iron Duke of Defense" in college basketball, including 36 years at Oklahoma State University (formerly Oklahoma A&M). He led Oklahoma A&M to NCAA championships in 1945 and '46, and he directed the U.S. Olympic team to two gold medals in 1964 and '68 and one silver medal in '72.
His A&M/OSU teams won 655 games and lost 316 for a .675 percentage. He also coached A&M baseball until 1941 with a 90-41 record (a .687 winning percentage), and he assumed the role of athletic director less than a year after arriving on campus. His basketball teams were known for their tough, man-for-man defenses and for the "Iba deep freeze" in the final minutes of close games, but he adjusted to major changes such as the jump shot and bonus free throws.
Iba, born in Easton, Mo., on Aug. 6, 1904, started his basketball coaching career at Oklahoma City's Classen High School, where the Comets earned a 51-5 record in two years and won the state championship in 1928-29. He led Maryville Teachers College in Missouri to a 101-14 record before coaching at the University of Colorado for one year and then moving to Oklahoma A&M in 1935. Overall, his teams won 767 college games.
His 1945-46 NCAA champions were led by Bob Kurland, the game's first seven-foot player. They beat NYU in the 1945 finals and North Carolina in the 1946 finals. He was voted coach of the year in both seasons. His 1945 champions also defeated National Invitation Tournament champion, DePaul, and 6-9 center George Mikan in a classic Red Cross Benefit game.
Iba held the dual position of basketball coach and athletic director until he retired in 1970. He was elected to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the Missouri Hall of Fame, the Helms Foundation All-Time Hall of Fame for basketball, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield, Mass. Henry Iba died on January 15, 1993, at Stillwater, Okla.
GO POKES!
--ER
Mr. Iba had 767 career victories and sits in seventh place on the all-time wins list. It was quite an achievement for Coach Sutton, who played for Mr. Iba from 1955-58, and was a graduate assistant coach for the Iron Duke during the 1958-59 season.
The following is from the Oklahoma Historical Society:
For more than four decades, Henry P. "Hank" Iba reigned as the "Iron Duke of Defense" in college basketball, including 36 years at Oklahoma State University (formerly Oklahoma A&M). He led Oklahoma A&M to NCAA championships in 1945 and '46, and he directed the U.S. Olympic team to two gold medals in 1964 and '68 and one silver medal in '72.
His A&M/OSU teams won 655 games and lost 316 for a .675 percentage. He also coached A&M baseball until 1941 with a 90-41 record (a .687 winning percentage), and he assumed the role of athletic director less than a year after arriving on campus. His basketball teams were known for their tough, man-for-man defenses and for the "Iba deep freeze" in the final minutes of close games, but he adjusted to major changes such as the jump shot and bonus free throws.
Iba, born in Easton, Mo., on Aug. 6, 1904, started his basketball coaching career at Oklahoma City's Classen High School, where the Comets earned a 51-5 record in two years and won the state championship in 1928-29. He led Maryville Teachers College in Missouri to a 101-14 record before coaching at the University of Colorado for one year and then moving to Oklahoma A&M in 1935. Overall, his teams won 767 college games.
His 1945-46 NCAA champions were led by Bob Kurland, the game's first seven-foot player. They beat NYU in the 1945 finals and North Carolina in the 1946 finals. He was voted coach of the year in both seasons. His 1945 champions also defeated National Invitation Tournament champion, DePaul, and 6-9 center George Mikan in a classic Red Cross Benefit game.
Iba held the dual position of basketball coach and athletic director until he retired in 1970. He was elected to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the Missouri Hall of Fame, the Helms Foundation All-Time Hall of Fame for basketball, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield, Mass. Henry Iba died on January 15, 1993, at Stillwater, Okla.
GO POKES!
--ER
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If y'all don't mind, I thought I'd bow out my chest a tad. A dozen or so years ago in the summer of 1992, I spent an afternoon with Mr. Iba at his Stillwater home out by the country club.
I was a 25-year-old cub reporter with the NewsMess, and it was the 20th anniversary of the Olympic Gold the Russians had given to 'em.
I can't recall much about the story, but I can tell you wonderful things about the man, who wasn't to far from leaving us on Earth then. I got to see fabulous photos and a wonderfully kept home. I got to meet a basketball icon and an Oklahoma legend.
And I didn't know it by the conversation I had with him that day. I asked stupid questions, he steered me in the right direction. He had a lot of stuff stored in his bread box, and I was lucky enough to hear glimses of his life.
I hope I never forget that day. And, thanks ER, for giving me those memories today.
I was a 25-year-old cub reporter with the NewsMess, and it was the 20th anniversary of the Olympic Gold the Russians had given to 'em.
I can't recall much about the story, but I can tell you wonderful things about the man, who wasn't to far from leaving us on Earth then. I got to see fabulous photos and a wonderfully kept home. I got to meet a basketball icon and an Oklahoma legend.
And I didn't know it by the conversation I had with him that day. I asked stupid questions, he steered me in the right direction. He had a lot of stuff stored in his bread box, and I was lucky enough to hear glimses of his life.
I hope I never forget that day. And, thanks ER, for giving me those memories today.
What a tale, and what a memory! The closest I can come to toppin' that is gettin' Tuff Hedeman's autograph on the back of a Copenhagen can. ... Naaaa, that ain't even close! :-)
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