This is a really good interview. Let me add a couple of things. In regards to Larry, like every other school in the country, we were after the big white kid, I think his name was Kyle Williams when the coaches saw Larry. Kyle wound up going to Kansas State who was coached by the great Jack Hartman and yes, Lon Krueger was the point guard on that team. Hobbs was coached by one of the all time great high school coaches, Ralph Tasker. They were the Wheatley High School of New Mexico.
In the 73-74 season, we did start out 0-8. That was a little misleading because we really played a tough non conference schedule. We went up to the Far West Classic in Portland and lost a tight game to Oregon who was coached by Dick Harter. They had 2 NBA players, Ronnie Lee and Greg Ballard on that team. WE lost the second game by I think by 1 to West Virginia. They had a 7 point play that beat us near the end of the game. I think that was a year before Huggy went to WV. WE beat Army and then lost our next 2 non conference games. Our 1st conference game was at Gregory against the horny toads and they looked at our 1-11 record and thought they were going to mud stomp us. Well, not exactly. We beat those toads by over 50 and that was with no shot clock, 3 point shot and no dunking. The game was so bad, those toads made me look good...almost.
The conference went down to the last game. We were tied with Tech and they lost to SMU that afternoon so all we had to do was beat Baylor at HOT to win the conference. For all aspiring coaches, remember this. Baylor came out in a box and 1 o keep Larry away from the ball as much as possible. Coach went to a diamond and 1 and told Larry to roam the lane. That's where the and 1 was least effect and Larry went crazy and we won the game and the conference. We come home after the game and get back to campus around midnight. Some of the parents were waiting for us and the tower was not lit. A couple of the parents were so upset, they called maintenance and demanded that they turn on the tower and they did. It's truly special when you see the tower lit and knowing that you played a small part in that. That's not something that you forget.
Steve was right about Coach. He was a good man who wouldn't have a chance today. A few months ago, I emailed the athletic department and asked them what they were going to do for Coach when Moody was opened. They responded but really didn't answer. I hope they do the right thing.