Lon Kruger Refutes Report That He Interviewed For UCLA Job

As former Texas coach Rick Barnes rises as a leading candidate for the vacant head coaching job at UCLA, current Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger is denying that he ever was a candidate.

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Latest I've heard is that Rick Barnes and Lon Kruger have been interviewed for the UCLA job, with Barnes considered the frontrunner. He's 64, two years younger than Kruger, and is coming off a national-coach-of-the-season at Tennessee.

— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) April 8, 2019

“I have not interviewed for the job at UCLA, nor have I had any contact with anyone from UCLA.”

Lon Kruger statement release by OU

Kruger has been Oklahoma’s head coach for the last eight seasons and has guided the Sooners to the NCAA Tournament six times, including a Final Four appearance in 2016.

Oklahoma’s 2019 recruiting class is ranked 3rd in the Big 12 and 16th nationally.