Bob King (August 24, 1923 – December 10, 2004) was an American college basketball coach and administrator. He was head coach at the University of New Mexico from 1962 to 1972 and at Indiana State University from 1975 to 1978. He also served as Assistant Athletics Director at New Mexico (1972–73) and Athletics Director at Indiana State (1974–80).
King coached basketball Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Mel Daniels, and Don Nelson. The success of his New Mexico teams led to the construction of The Pit, the home venue of the Lobos, and its court is named after him. He also assembled the Indiana State team that went to the 1979 NCAA Final Four and lost in the championship game. Both schools have inducted King into their Athletics Halls of Fame, as has the Missouri Valley Conference.
Early career
King was born in Gravity, Iowa, where he was an All-State basketball player in high school. He lettered in baseball as a freshman at the University of Iowa before graduating in three years with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education in 1947. He earned a master's degree in Educational Guidance and Psychology from Drake University in 1957. King coached for 12 seasons at Britt High School and Algona High School in Iowa and Rockford West High School in Rockford, Illinois. King led Rockford West to three consecutive Regional championships from 1957 to 1959, while compiling an overall high school record of 205–75. King then returned to his alma mater and became an assistant coach at Iowa for two seasons (1960–62) under Sharm Scheuerman. At Iowa, King coached two-time All-American, NBA player and Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson, who became the all-time leader in NBA coaching victories.New Mexico Athletics Official Site, Lobo Basketball Media Guide 2013–14 , p.96.Nelson and other Iowa players sent a letter to the New Mexico athletics director praising King and recommending him for the Lobo coaching position. Rick Wright, AD Pete McDavid Presided Over the Golden Era of UNM Athletics, Albuquerque Journal, Oct. 17, 2004.
University of New Mexico
King was hired as head coach of the New Mexico Lobos in 1962.Richard Stevens, The Passion of Pit Basketball Started in Johnson Gym, New Mexico Athletics Official Site, June 9, 2013.Rick Wright, Lobos Coach Bob King Gave Rise to the Pit, Albuquerque Journal, December 11, 2004. The Lobo program had gone 42–149 (.220) over the previous eight seasons and had only two winning seasons in the previous fifteen years. King transformed the program immediately, winning more games in his first two seasons than the team had won in the previous six combined. In ten seasons as Lobo head coach, King compiled a record of 175–89 (.663), the second most coaching wins in team history, with two Western Athletic Conference (WAC) titles, three appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), and the school's first NCAA tournament bid.Bob King, New Mexico Athletics Official Site
King instilled fundamental principles of the game, running a disciplined offense and a relentless, pressure defense, building his early teams around dominant centers. His first Lobo squad was led by future ABA-standout Ira Harge, who transferred to New Mexico from a Junior College in Iowa. The Lobos went 16–9 in their first season under King. In 1963–64, they won the WAC championship for the first time and went to the NIT in New York City. They defeated Drake and upset NYU before losing in the championship game to Bradley, finishing the season 23–6, the most wins in program history at that point. Harge averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds as a Lobo and was honored as "the most prolific scorer in the history of the school" at the time.Boosters Honor UNM's Greatest Basketball Team, New Mexico Lobo, April 10, 1964, pp.1,4,Ira Harge, Basketball-Reference.com
King next signed center Mel Daniels, one of the greatest players in Lobo history. Daniels averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds a game as a three-year starter (1964–67), leading the team to a combined 54–24 record and two more NIT appearances. Daniels went on to become an ABA All-Time Team member after winning two MVP awards and three championships with the Indiana Pacers. In 2012, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.Mel Daniels, Basketball-Reference.comFive Direct-Elects for the Class of 2012 Announced By the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, February 24, 2012. After his playing career, Daniels joined King's staff at Indiana State as an assistant, and he later worked in the Pacers front office for over twenty years.
The Lobos entered the national rankings for the first time and spent a total of 52 weeks in the rankings during King's tenure. The team became wildly popular in Albuquerque, attendance at their games more than doubled, and soon their home venue was selling out regularly.Lobo Media Guide 2013–14, pp.93,96. University Arena, now formally known as Dreamstyle Arena but popularly known as "The Pit", opened at the beginning of the 1966–67 season and has become one of the most renowned college basketball arenas in the country.Lobo Media Guide 2013–14, pp.1–2,4–5. Attendance at The Pit was second in the nation in its first year and has remained among national leaders ever since, and the Lobos have won over eighty percent of their games there.
During the same period, Lobo rivals UTEP and New Mexico State also attained national prominence. UTEP (then Texas Western) won the national championship in 1966, and New Mexico State reached the Final Four in 1970. A fierce rivalry developed among King, Miners coach Don Haskins, and Aggies coach Lou Henson. Their teams each played one another twice a season, often with national rankings at stake.Lobo Media Guide 2013–14, pp.135–36.
The 1967–68 Lobos had lost Daniels to graduation, and they were picked in preseason polls to finish last in the WAC.Lobo Media Guide 2013–14, p.104. Instead they bolted to a 17–0 start, climbing into the national rankings. The team was the most balanced squad King had at New Mexico, with four players averaging in double-figures, led by Ron Nelson with 19.5 points per game.Lobo Media Guide 2013–14, p.100. The Lobos beat #5 Utah and #10 New Mexico State, surging to #4 in the polls. They won the WAC conference, and Nelson was honored as All-WAC and a Helms All-American.Lobo Media Guide 2013–14, p.86. The Lobos received their first bid to the NCAA tournament, playing in the regionals at The Pit. They were upset by Santa Clara, however, and finished the season 23–5.
The focus on inside play returned the next season as Willie Long began his run as a three-year starter. The team finished 17–9 but failed to reach the post-season. Long averaged 23.9 points a game in both his final two seasons, earning All-WAC recognition both years and Helms All-American status as a senior. Like Harge and Daniels, Long went on to play in the ABA.New Mexico Athletics, Lobo Basketball Media Guide 2013–14 , pp.67,86,88.Willie Long, Basketball-Reference.com The Lobos slumped to a 42–36 record in King's final three seasons as head coach, with no postseason appearances.
King stepped down as coach after the 1971–72 season, becoming Assistant Athletics Director at UNM the next year. He had hoped to take over as Athletics Director, as the current AD was set to retire in 1973, but after he was passed over for the job, perhaps due to state politics, King resigned.Rick Wright, AD Pete McDavid Presided Over the Golden Era of UNM Athletics, Albuquerque Journal, Oct. 17, 2004.Jimmy Hester, Goodbye, Julian "Bon" Lavon McDonald, Wolf-Bytes.com.
Indiana State University King was hired as Athletics Director at Indiana State, serving from 1974 to 1980, transforming the program and leading it to national prominence.Bob King , Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame Under King the ISU football program elevated to Division I status, and the school joined the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The men's gymnastics team was NCAA co-champion in 1977, producing Olympian Kurt Thomas, and four-time Olympic medalist Bruce Baumgartner wrestled for the ISU team.
King was head coach of the ISU basketball team for three seasons, from 1975 through 1978. King and assistant coach Bill Hodges recruited Larry Bird, who had started school the previous year at Indiana University but quit before basketball season began. Bird had been working for the public works department in his hometown, among other odd jobs, while also playing in AAU league games and tournaments.Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson with Jackie MacMullan, When the Game Was Ours (2009), pp.15–16.Robin Miller, Bird had place to spread wings after eventually landing at ISU, Indianapolis Star/News, November 1, 1992, reprinted in Larry Bird: An Indiana Legend (1999), pp.31–34. Hodges was persistent, showing up at Bird's house and jobs, trying to convince him to return to college ball. King and Hodges went to see Bird play in an AAU all-star game. King noticed scratches on Bird's arms and correctly guessed that he had been putting up hay all day. Bird finished with 43 points and 25 rebounds, and King convinced him to visit ISU for a tryout. Bird enrolled for the fall semester but sat out the 1975–76 season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Sycamores went 13–12. Bird practiced with the team, and rumors began to circulate that the red-shirt squad was beating the starters.Mike McCormick, Historical Perspective: Reflections on Larry Bird at Indiana State in 1979, The Tribune-Star, November 17, 2013.
Bird began his ISU career year with a flourish, scoring over 30 points in his first games, later scoring 47 points with 19 rebounds against Butler.Wayne Fuson, Saying Thanks to ISU No. 33, Indianapolis Star/News, April 28, 1979, reprinted in Larry Bird: An Indiana Legend (1999), pp.27–28. The Sycamores had joined the MVC but were not eligible for the conference title, and they dominated a schedule of mostly independents.Statistics Summary for 1976–77 , Indiana State Athletics Official Site Bird averaged 32.8 points and 13.3 rebounds a game, leading the team to a 25–2 regular season record. Sports Illustrated put him on its cover and called him "College Basketball’s Secret Weapon."MacMullan (2009), pp.17–18.See Larry Bird: The Indiana State Years, Sports Illustrated [Photo Gallery], July 29, 2011. Attendance surged and ISU recorded its first ever sold-out home games. The Sycamores were ranked #16 and received their first post-season invitation as a Division I school, playing at Houston in the NIT. They lost in the closing seconds, 83–82, despite 44 points and 14 boards from Bird, finishing the season 25–3.
The Sycamores began the 1977–78 season 13–0, including a blowout over Purdue. They then lost five straight, struggling on the road in the MVC.Statistics Summary for 1977–78 , Indiana State Athletics Official Site The team finished the season strong, winning eight out of ten but losing at Creighton in the conference tournament final. They again received a bid to the NIT, where they beat Illinois State in the first round before losing at Rutgers, 57–56, finishing the season 23–9.See Larry Bird: The Indiana State Years, Sports Illustrated [Photo Gallery], July 29, 2011. Bird averaged 30 points and 11.5 rebounds and was named a first team UPI All-American.