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In spite of his family name, Gene Iba decided not to pursue coaching.
But it was that Iba name that pulled Gene into coaching after all.
After playing for his father, Clarence, at Tulsa, Iba opted to pursue a more traditional career route, signing up to join the management training program at Texaco. But Uncle Sam had other ideas, and in 1963, Iba went to U.S. Naval Supply School in Athens, Ga.
Once there, Iba recalled a meeting with a lieutenant trying to field a basketball team. He asked if anyone would coach.
“It was one of those things where you were supposed to take one step forward if you wanted to do it,” Iba said. “Nobody stepped forward.
“So the lieutenant continued on and said ‘I don’t know anything about basketball,’” Iba said. “‘But I know that name.’”
And he pointed to Iba’s nametag.
The Iba name was synonymous with winning, thanks to Gene’s uncle Henry. Henry won 767 college basketball games in his career, the second-most in college basketball history when he retired. 655 of those wins, including two national championships, came at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). Known as the “Duke of Defense,” or, more simply, “Mr. Iba,” Henry was also the only coach to claim two Olympic gold medals.
Later, Henry’s name would grab a permanent place on Oklahoma State’s home arena, which was renamed Gallagher-Iba arena in 1987.
And now, that Iba name was prompting a lieutenant to finger Gene as the school’s next coach.
“I said if it was the only way to have a team, I would do it,” Iba said. “But I tell you how it’s going to be — we’re only going to pick four other starters because of me (starting).”
The rest, as they say, is history. After a few high school and assistant jobs, Gene embarked on a 30-year career as a head coach, including 15 years at Pittsburg State. His final season will wrap up today as the Gorillas take on Nebraska-Omaha at 3:30 p.m.
Starting off
Iba said he inherited a strong team with the Navy, a squad with 24 college letters, though they weren’t all in basketball. Had Iba come just one class better, they could have been even better — his squad would have included Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach.
Iba’s team went on to go 24-4, and more importantly “I kind of liked the coaching part of it.” The coaching seeds were planted, and Iba went to work as a graduate assistant for his uncle at Oklahoma A&M.
“I licked a lot of stamps,” Iba said. “But I got to keep stats and I helped to coach the freshman team.”
From there, he went to Cleveland High School in St. Louis, where he helped with the team, despite never officially being a basketball coach. He then went to Roosevelt High School and within a couple of years turned the program around, winning a city championship while dealing with a charged racial atmosphere.
“The kids were great,” Iba said. “But the racial problems were intense. It was a difficult time.”
Along the way, Iba met his wife, Sandy. But now, it was time for Iba to move up to the college game. Iba had been trying to break into the college ranks for a while, and he succeeded by joining Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins at the University of Texas at El Paso in 1972. Iba spent six years at UTEP, recruiting largely by phone and learning the duties of a college coach.
“Basically speaking, there was just the two of us,” Iba said. “It was a time consuming job, often running from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.
“The biggest regret I had out there was that my wife basically had to raise their kids,” Iba said. “I could get home to tuck them into bed, but that’s about it.”
He wouldn’t have that problem with his next job. In 1978, Iba was rewarded his first head coaching job, a spot at Division 1 Houston Baptist.
“Houston Baptist had some really good players, but not good teams,” Iba said. “I was fortunate over eight years to have some great players and some really, really good teams.”
At the time, Houston wasn’t a heavily recruited city, and Iba was able to grab winning records in five of his final six years, including a trip to the NCAA tournament in 1984. That record helped to propel Iba to a spot in the Southwest Conference, as he accepted the job at probation-ravaged Baylor. There he coached future NBA player Mike Williams and European star Darryl Middleton. The duo propelled Baylor to the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Iba also had two NIT appearances in Waco, but finished his tenure with a 98-107 record and was fired following the 1992 season.
In spite of his family name, Gene Iba decided not to pursue coaching.
But it was that Iba name that pulled Gene into coaching after all.
After playing for his father, Clarence, at Tulsa, Iba opted to pursue a more traditional career route, signing up to join the management training program at Texaco. But Uncle Sam had other ideas, and in 1963, Iba went to U.S. Naval Supply School in Athens, Ga.
Once there, Iba recalled a meeting with a lieutenant trying to field a basketball team. He asked if anyone would coach.
“It was one of those things where you were supposed to take one step forward if you wanted to do it,” Iba said. “Nobody stepped forward.
“So the lieutenant continued on and said ‘I don’t know anything about basketball,’” Iba said. “‘But I know that name.’”
And he pointed to Iba’s nametag.
The Iba name was synonymous with winning, thanks to Gene’s uncle Henry. Henry won 767 college basketball games in his career, the second-most in college basketball history when he retired. 655 of those wins, including two national championships, came at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). Known as the “Duke of Defense,” or, more simply, “Mr. Iba,” Henry was also the only coach to claim two Olympic gold medals.
Later, Henry’s name would grab a permanent place on Oklahoma State’s home arena, which was renamed Gallagher-Iba arena in 1987.
And now, that Iba name was prompting a lieutenant to finger Gene as the school’s next coach.
“I said if it was the only way to have a team, I would do it,” Iba said. “But I tell you how it’s going to be — we’re only going to pick four other starters because of me (starting).”
The rest, as they say, is history. After a few high school and assistant jobs, Gene embarked on a 30-year career as a head coach, including 15 years at Pittsburg State. His final season will wrap up today as the Gorillas take on Nebraska-Omaha at 3:30 p.m.
Starting off
Iba said he inherited a strong team with the Navy, a squad with 24 college letters, though they weren’t all in basketball. Had Iba come just one class better, they could have been even better — his squad would have included Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach.
Iba’s team went on to go 24-4, and more importantly “I kind of liked the coaching part of it.” The coaching seeds were planted, and Iba went to work as a graduate assistant for his uncle at Oklahoma A&M.
“I licked a lot of stamps,” Iba said. “But I got to keep stats and I helped to coach the freshman team.”
From there, he went to Cleveland High School in St. Louis, where he helped with the team, despite never officially being a basketball coach. He then went to Roosevelt High School and within a couple of years turned the program around, winning a city championship while dealing with a charged racial atmosphere.
“The kids were great,” Iba said. “But the racial problems were intense. It was a difficult time.”
Along the way, Iba met his wife, Sandy. But now, it was time for Iba to move up to the college game. Iba had been trying to break into the college ranks for a while, and he succeeded by joining Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins at the University of Texas at El Paso in 1972. Iba spent six years at UTEP, recruiting largely by phone and learning the duties of a college coach.
“Basically speaking, there was just the two of us,” Iba said. “It was a time consuming job, often running from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.
“The biggest regret I had out there was that my wife basically had to raise their kids,” Iba said. “I could get home to tuck them into bed, but that’s about it.”
He wouldn’t have that problem with his next job. In 1978, Iba was rewarded his first head coaching job, a spot at Division 1 Houston Baptist.
“Houston Baptist had some really good players, but not good teams,” Iba said. “I was fortunate over eight years to have some great players and some really, really good teams.”
At the time, Houston wasn’t a heavily recruited city, and Iba was able to grab winning records in five of his final six years, including a trip to the NCAA tournament in 1984. That record helped to propel Iba to a spot in the Southwest Conference, as he accepted the job at probation-ravaged Baylor. There he coached future NBA player Mike Williams and European star Darryl Middleton. The duo propelled Baylor to the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Iba also had two NIT appearances in Waco, but finished his tenure with a 98-107 record and was fired following the 1992 season.
Where is Pittsburg?
At that point, Iba decided, for the second time in his life, that he didn’t want to coach. And, for the second time in his life, the thought didn’t hold.
Iba spent time with Lon Kruger, watching practices, and said he decided “that I really didn’t like not coaching.”
He started looking around, and before long received a call from Gary Garner at Hays. Garner told Iba that there was an opening at Pittsburg State.
“I grew up 100 miles south of there, and I didn’t know anything about it,” Iba said. “So I asked where it was.”
“Does it matter?” Garner asked.
“Probably not,” Iba responded.
And so it was that in 1996, Iba became the 13th basketball coach at Pittsburg State. Iba inherited a team that had just three players back from a .500 program ... a program that had seen just seven winning seasons in 25 years.
It took just eight years for Iba to hit that mark. After going 14-14 in his first year (overcoming a 3-7 start), Iba rattled off winning seasons in his next nine years. Then he kept coaching.
“I came here in with the idea that I wanted to coach between five and 10 years tops,” Iba said. “But then I coached another five after that because I really wanted to.
“Now, I’ve done my deal,” Iba said. “I don’t chase numbers. I’ve seen a lot of people chase numbers and go crazy. But I’ve enjoyed virtually everything I’ve been involved with here.”
Still, the numbers have been impressive. Five times, the Gorillas made the NCAA-II Tournament, marking the only five times the Gorillas have participated in an NCAA postseason (the Gorillas had some success between the 1930s and 1960s as an NAIA member). The NCAA-II Sweet 16 performance ranks as the best in school history. In addition, the Gorillas won 252 games, lost just 154, and had 20-win seasons five times. The 1998-1999 team raced all the way to the No. 1 spot in the country before winning a share of Pitt State’s first-ever MIAA regular season title.
“The games are great, and I enjoy the Xs and Os,” Iba said. “I enjoy practice. I like to teach.
“But it’s all about the kids you get a chance to deal with and the coaches you get a chance to work with.”
Twelve Iba players have moved on to play professional basketball, while six players earned All-American mention.
Before the 2009-2010 season started, Iba announced that it would be his last. And he said this week that he wouldn’t come out of retirement again.
“It’s been fun,” Iba said. “But it’s done. My health and Sandy’s health is relatively good. There are a lot of things I haven’t had a chance to do that don’t have anything to do with basketball.”
Better than you found it
Iba’s final season has been a tough one.
Three post players left or were injured, leaving the Gorillas without a real post presence. Other players fought through injuries or were forced into action early. And following a 5-1 start, the Gorillas have gone just 3-17 the rest of the way, including a 2-17 mark in the MIAA.
“It doesn’t bother me so much that we’re losing games, but that we couldn’t get things turned around,” Iba said. “It’s tough on our players, tough on the coaches and tough on the families. Losing games is one thing, but losing games consistently is another, and I haven’t had to do that very often.”
But Iba said he has a soft spot for the current batch of players, whom he said he admires for their perseverance through this year’s adversity. And he said that this year’s results shouldn’t scare off any candidates to replace them.
“When I applied for this job, a little over 90 people put their names in. But only maybe 10 were actually qualified,” Iba said. “Now you’ll have to check, and I don’t know how many will apply, but I would imagine that you would get 20-25 very qualified people to apply for this job.
“Dr. (Steve) Scott (PSU President) is committed to improving facilities, and when that happens, I think this will be one of the top-notch jobs around. And I don’t think you could say that a few years ago.”
Iba said that he feels he’s left the job in a better place than it was when he found it, and maintains that this year’s results were more a combination of tough circumstances and negative momentum.
“I think we have some great kids here,” Iba said. “I’ve had a lot of good players here. A lot of good players. And I’ve had a lot of great kids.”
Iba said he would be interested in the search for his replacement, though he said he wouldn’t offer up any input for a choice. He did say his replacement would walk into a great situation.
“It’s a special conference in a situation where, if you do well in the conference, you’ll have a chance to do well nationally,” Iba said. “And the people have been fair and great.”
With Iba, it always comes back to the people, and he said it’s those people who have made his career in Pittsburg worthwhile.
“I’ve lived here longer than any other place than I’ve lived in my adult life,” Iba said. “I love the size of the town. I like that you can be fishing in 10-20 minutes, that you can go downtown and not have to worry about locking your car. I like that you can sit down at lunch and dinner and you know 50 percent of the people there.
“I’ve enjoyed so much about my time here,” Iba said. “The people have been the biggest part of that.”
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
