As basketball coach of the Wildcats, Kruger led K-State to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons as head coach and the Elite Eight in 1988—a team featuring future NBA players Mitch Richmond and Steve Henson—before losing to arch-rival Kansas Jayhawks, the eventual national champion. From Kansas State, Kruger moved south to the University of Florida, taking over a Gators program that had limited success not only nationally, but in the Southeastern Conference.
Florida
In his six seasons with Florida, Kruger compiled a 104–80 mark. In the process, he led the University of Florida to its first-ever Final Four appearance in 1994. He was named coach of the year in both 1992 and 1994.
Illinois
Kruger accepted the vacant position at Illinois. While there, he became the only Big Ten coach to successfully sign three consecutive Illinois Mr. Basketball winners, after inking Sergio McClain, Frank Williams, and Brian Cook between 1997 and 1999.
Kruger accepted the job at UNLV in 2004. His son, Kevin, took advantage of a new NCAA rule, called Proposal 2005–54, before the 2006–2007 season to transfer from Arizona State and immediately play for his father at UNLV without sitting out one year. The controversial rule was repealed for the following season due to what some claimed were the unintended consequence of allowing players with undergraduate diplomas to immediately begin playing for another school without sitting out for any time. In 2007, Kruger led the Runnin' Rebels to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, which was the team's first trip there since Jerry Tarkanian led them there in 1991. On February 9, 2008, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels beat Colorado State 68–51 at home, for Kruger's 400th career win.
Oklahoma
On April 1, 2011, sources confirmed that Kruger had accepted the head coaching position with the Oklahoma Sooners, replacing the fired Jeff Capel. Kruger's new Oklahoma Sooners compensation package purportedly exceed $2.2 million annually. Despite his success, he was not immune to criticism, having won just one regular season conference championship in his lengthy college coaching career. However, Kruger has generally enjoyed a positive reputation overall. On November 30, 2012, Kruger earned his 500th career head coaching victory as his Sooners beat Northwestern State 69–65 in Norman. On March 17, 2013, Kruger became the only head coach in Division I history to lead five programs to the NCAA tournament when his Sooner team was named a 10 seed in the event's South region. The feat was later matched by Tubby Smith in 2016 when he took Texas Tech to the tournament. On March 20, 2015, Kruger became the only head coach in Division I history to win an NCAA tournament game with five programs. He is one of four active coaches who have had three teams in the Elite Eight. Kruger reached his second career Final Four, this time with Oklahoma, in 2016. On February 25, 2017, Kruger earned his 600th career head coaching victory as his Sooners beat Kansas State 81–51 in Norman.
Professional coaching
Prior to accepting the head coaching position at UNLV in 2004, Kruger was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. It was as head coach of the Hawks that Kruger guaranteed season-ticket holders in 2003 that the Hawks would make the playoffs or get a $125 refund. The Hawks failed to make the playoffs and Kruger was fired midway through the 2002–2003 season. Kruger was an assistant coach under Rudy Tomjanovich for the US national team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.
