K-State Basketball: Best head coaches of all-time for Kansas State

BEST K-STATE BASKETBALL COACHES: NUMBER 2 – JACK GARDNER

Coached at K-State from 1939-1942 and1946-1953 (Record: 147-81)

The lone coach to have had two separate stints as the head coach of K-State basketball comes in at number two and it’s Jack Gardner. Gardner, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, had one of the best runs ever at Kansas State.

While his first stint wasn’t the best, Gardner got it going in his second tenure as the head coach. That was when he found success and really got the Wildcats rolling.

Gardner would end his tenure at Kansas State with a record of 147-81.

Gardner took the Wildcats to two Final Four appearances, earned three conference titles, and even got KSU to a National Championship. The Cats would go on to lose to Kentucky in the 1951 championship game, but getting there was a huge accomplishment.

That was the only time that Kansas State has ever made it to a National Championship game and it’s safe to say that 1950-1951 squad was the best K-State hoops team ever. Gardner would eventually leave Manhattan to coach at Utah, where he finished off his impressive coaching career.

Gardner was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. These were well deserved inductions for one of the all-time greats in Kansas State history.

Jack Gardner would end his tenure at Kansas State with a record of 147-81 and continues to be one of the best ever. Even though Gardner has been the only coach to get the Wildcats to the National Championship game, he’s still only ranked second all-time.

Who edged him out for the top spot?