Sources report Kruger to hire ORU assistant, passes on Terry Evans

Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World is reporting that new OU basketball coach Lon Kruger will fill his final assistant position with someone other than former Sooner Terry Evans.  According to Emig, the choice will still have some local flair but not of the variety that many OU fans were hoping for.  Chris Crutchfield is reportedly Kruger's choice to fill the final opening on his new staff.  Here is his bio courtesy of the ORU official website:

A former head coach and veteran assistant, Chris Crutchfield recently completed his fourth season on the ORU coaching staff.

Crutchfield owns 10 years of Division I coaching experience, along with two seasons as a junior college head coach. Before arriving at ORU, he spent two seasons on Neil Dougherty’s staff at TCU. "Chris is a fine addition to our staff," said Sutton. "He has great connections all over the country and especially in Texas, an area which has become so important to our program. He’s also been a head coach at the junior college level and brings a wealth of knowledge to our staff."

Since his arrival at ORU, Crutchfield has helped the Golden Eagles to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2008) and the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (2011), while also assisting in a pair of 20-win seasons. The Golden Eagles have averaged 20 wins since Crutchfield joined the staff.

Crutchfield has been instrumental in ORU’s recruiting efforts over the last four years. Most notably he landed forward Steven Roundtree, who earned Summit League Newcomer of the Year honors as a freshman in 2011.

In his first season at TCU (2005-06), Crutchfield served as the program’s Director of Operations before being promoted to assistant coach in August of 2006.

Crutchfield has plenty of experience working for top-flight coaches. Prior to his stint at TCU, he spent four seasons (‘01-05) on New Mexico State under NMSU all-time wins leader Lou Henson. Crutchfield was part of two 20-win seasons with the Aggies, and helped guide NMSU to the 2002 Sun Belt Conference championship.

Crutchfield owns deep Texas coaching roots. Following two seasons as an assistant coach at Tyler (Texas) Junior College, he took over as the program’s head coach for the ‘99-00 and ‘00-01 campaigns. As TJC’s head coach his teams posted an overall record of 35-28 (.556), and enjoyed a 91-precent graduation rate.

During his four years at Tyler, he recruited and coached 20 players who went on to play Division I basketball, including two All-Americans.

Prior to his stop at Tyler, Crutchfield spent the ‘96-97 season as an assistant coach at Texas-San Antonio. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, in ‘95-96.

"I’ve known Chris for a long time," said Sutton. "I tried to hire him 12 years ago when he was the head coach at Tyler Junior College. We’re very fortunate now to have him as a part of our staff."

Crutchfield and his wife, Jodi, have three sons: Derrick (25), Jalen (12), and Joshua (11).

So what say you OU b-ball fans, are you okay with this decision?  Or are you upset that Kruger didn't go with the "fan favorite" in former player Terry Evans?  Sound off in the comments section.