Henry Iba
Henry "Hank" Payne Iba was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwest Missouri State University, from 1929 to 1933; the University of Colorado Boulder from 1933 to 1934; and the Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, known as Oklahoma A&M prior to 1957, from 1934 to 1970, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 751–340. He led Oklahoma A&M to consecutive NCAA Basketball Tournament titles, in 1945 and 1946. Iba was also the athletic director at Oklahoma A&M / Oklahoma State from 1935 to 1970 and the school's head baseball coach from 1934 to 1941, tallying a mark of 90–41. As head coach of the United States men's national basketball team, he led the U.S. to the gold medals at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. Iba was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Early life
Iba was born and raised in Easton, Missouri. He played college basketball at Westminster College, where he became a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. The basketball court at Westminster is now named in his honor.Oklahoma State University
After coaching stints at Maryville Teachers' College and the University of Colorado, Iba came to Oklahoma A&M College in 1934. He stayed at Oklahoma A&M, renamed Oklahoma State University in 1957, for 36 years until his retirement after the 1969–70 season. For most of his tenure at A&M/OSU, he doubled as athletic director. Additionally, Iba coached OSU's baseball team from 1934 to 1941.Iba is thought to be one of the toughest coaches in NCAA history. He was a very methodical coach who expected things to be done perfectly. His teams were a reflection of his personality. They were methodical, ball-controlling units that featured weaving patterns and low scoring games. Iba's "swinging gate" defense was applauded by many, and is still effective in today's game. He was known as "the Iron Duke of Defense."
Iba's Aggies became the first to win consecutive NCAA titles. 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 defeated National Invitation Tournament champion, DePaul, and 6'10" center George Mikan in a classic Red Cross Benefit game. January 22, 2005.
A&M/State teams won 14 Missouri Valley titles and one Big Eight title, and won 655 games in 36 seasons.
Iba's tenure crested in 1958. That year, the Cowboys joined the Big Eight and promptly won the conference title, advancing all the way to the Elite Eight. However, after that season, his Cowboys only finished higher than fourth two more times in Big Eight play, one of which was another Elite Eight appearance in 1965.
All told, in 40 years of coaching, he won 767 games—the second-most in college basketball history at the time of his retirement. As OSU's athletic director, he built a program that won 19 national championships in 5 sports over the years. After his retirement, "Mr. Iba" frequently showed up at practices, often giving advice to young players.
In 1987, OSU's home arena, Gallagher Hall, was renamed Gallagher-Iba Arena in Iba's honor. A seat in the southeast concourse level of the arena is known as "Mr. Iba's Seat," and it is maintained without a fan having sat in it.
Iba died on January 15, 1993, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Olympic coaching
Iba coached the USA Olympic basketball teams in 1964, 1968 and 1972. He is the first coach in USA Olympic basketball history to coach two gold medal winning teams. Coach Mike Krzyzewski was the second. The 1972 Munich Summer Olympic's final resulted in a controversial loss to the Soviet Union, breaking Team USA's 63-game winning streak from when basketball as a sport, was originally introduced at the Summer Olympics, in 1936.Honors and awards
Iba 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, National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield, Massachusetts.Iba was indirectly responsible for a $165 million donation to the Oklahoma State University athletic program. In 1951, T. Boone Pickens, a graduate of OSU with a degree in petroleum geology, was looking for a job and asked Iba for help. Iba set the young graduate up with two interviews for high-school basketball coaching jobs and although Pickens didn't end up becoming a coach, the favor Iba did for him was the impetus behind his decision 50 years later to make a $165 million donation to Oklahoma State University's athletic program.
Iba was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1965.
Legacy
Coaching tree
Iba is known for his coaching tree, the group of prominent coaches who either coached or played for Iba himself, or are linked to Iba by playing for one of his pupils. Coaches in this tree typically use a physical man-to-man defense and an offense predicated on ball movement and passing.| Coach | Iba connection | Years as Head Coach | Notes |
| Larry Brown | Played for 1964 U.S. Olympic team | Numerous college and pro teams, 1972–present | 1988 NCAA title; 2004 NBA title |
| Doug Collins | Played for 1972 U.S. Olympic team | Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers, 1986–2013 | |
| Jack Hartman | Played for Oklahoma A&M, 1943–47; assistant coach at Oklahoma A&M, 1954 | Southern Illinois, Kansas State, 1962–86 | NABC National Coach of the Year, 1981 |
| Don Haskins | Played for Oklahoma A&M, 1949–52; assistant coach on 1972 U.S. Olympic Team | Texas Western/UTEP, 1961–1999 | 1966 NCAA title |
| Moe Iba | Played for Oklahoma State, 1958–62; assistant to Don Haskins at UTEP, 1962–66 | Memphis State, Nebraska, Texas Christian, 1966–94 | Son of Henry Iba |
| Bob Knight | Assistant coach on 1972 U.S. Olympic Team | Army, Indiana, Texas Tech, 1965–2008 | 1976, '81, and '87 NCAA titles |
| Bud Millikan | Played for Oklahoma A&M, 1939–42 | Maryland, 1950–67 | |
| Doyle Parrack | Played for Oklahoma A&M, 1943–46 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1950–62 | |
| Wilbur "Sparky" Stalcup | Played for Iba at Northwest Missouri, 1929–33 | Northwest Missouri, Missouri, 1933–62 | |
| Eddie Sutton | Played for Oklahoma A&M, 1955–58; assistant coach at Oklahoma State, 1958–59 | Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, San Francisco, 1969–2008 | 1978 and 1986 AP National Coach of the Year |