By MIKE BEACOM
of The Gazette
In late fall of 1971, the P.J. Jacobs High School boys basketball team welcomed into their gymnasium a Milwaukee Rufus King squad that had finished as state runner-up the year before.
Rufus King was used to playing some of the Midwest's best teams, including those from the Milwaukee and Chicago areas. But the unsuspecting group hadn't played against an individual like Stevens Point guard Dan Krueger before.
Krueger sank basket after basket that night and finished the game with 35 points.
After the season had concluded, Max Walker, the coach from Rufus King, pulled Stevens Point coach Jim Lind aside to inform him that the players from King had all agreed Krueger was the toughest player they'd seen all year.
"Dan had a reputation all over the state," said Lind.
Krueger first found basketball in the mid 1950s while growing up in Janesville, where his father, Robert "Bob" Krueger coached the game as well as football and baseball.
When he was in third-grade, his father took the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's men's basketball head coaching position.
"I was lucky because I had a gym available pretty much whenever I wanted one," said Krueger.
The rare times he was not able to get into the gym to shoot, Krueger recalls he and his friends still found a way to play.
"I can remember shoveling off the driveway in the winter months and shooting in 25- degree weather" said Krueger.
Krueger excelled in football and baseball, too. By the time he would finish high school, he would have three letters in each sport, and his play at quarterback on the gridiron drew him letters of interest from several colleges.
But, from the time he could hold onto a basketball, Krueger remembers that always being his favorite sport.
"I just liked basketball more than the other sports. It's one of those sports where you don't need others to practice," said Krueger.
Maybe Krueger was most himself when he was dribbling a ball on hardwood floors.
Said one panelist, "Dan was unassuming and quiet, but he seemed to ooze confidence on the basketball court."
The most prevalent occasion Krueger displayed his love for basketball over other sports came the week before homecoming his senior year of football. In a one-on-one game of basketball against UW-SP standout Bruce Weinkauf, he came down hard on an ankle.
When his mother informed the school principal (also a football coach) that the reason her son would not make it to class the next morning was due to the basketball injury, she received a cold response from the other end of the line.
No matter what sport, Krueger was committed to his teammates and playing his best (he did return in time for the homecoming game). But his commitment to basketball went beyond comprehension to all but the most serious of players.
"I never got sick of practicing," said Krueger. "The time I spent on basketball was never a sacrifice. It was something I loved to do."
The seemingly endless amount of time he spent sharpening his all-around game was unlike most that spend their afternoons on the playground.
Krueger focused on improving the little parts of his game that would allow him to be a more complete player.
"He wasn't the quickest player, but he could get from point A to point B faster than anybody else because he paid so much attention to detail," said Lind.
"Dan was the first player I remember using the quick head fake and when the defender would leave his feet, Dan would initiate contact to draw a foul," said Lind. "And he was a premier free throw shooter."
After high school, Krueger received interest from schools all over the nation. Although it might have made sense to some that he play for his dad at UW-SP, Krueger says he wasn't recruited to play at Stevens Point.
"He encouraged me to play at the highest level I could play at," said Krueger.
Schools like Duke, Kansas and Arizona State were all hoping to land Krueger.
Lind remembers a conversation he had with a recruiter from Duke.
"He said, 'We play North Carolina on Saturday and I'd love to take him back with me because I think he could help us in that game,'" said Lind.
Krueger decided to go to the University of Texas first.
Texas was graduating several seniors and Krueger felt comfortable on the campus.
"I thought it was a great opportunity to come in and play right away as a freshman," said Krueger after visiting Texas. "I really felt like I fit in with the program well."
He mailed his tickets back to Arizona State and ended the speculation about going there.
At Texas, Krueger improved each year and earned four letters from 1973-76.
He was named to the All-Southwest Conference team as a junior and senior.
The senior All-Conference team consisted of Krueger, Rich Bullock, Ira Terrell, Otis Birdsong (who later won a National Basketball Association scoring title) and Sidney Moncrief (one of the NBA's best in the 1980s and a legend to Milwaukee Bucks' fans).
Krueger and his Texas teammates also played against a Centenary big-man named Robert Parrish (of Boston Celtics fame).
Krueger's senior year at Texas saw him lead the team with 18.9 points per game. He also shot 84 percent from the free throw line.
That season, he and true-freshman guard Johnny Moore (who later played for the San Antonio Spurs) led the team in wins over a Moncrief-led Arkansas team (that later reached the National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four) and Birdsong's Houston team.
But, Krueger fondest memories of his days at Texas were during his sophomore season. That team started the year 0-9, but finished with a conference title.
Krueger had considered transferring back to Stevens Point during the holiday break, but when Texas coach Leon Black decided to use Harry Larrabee and Krueger in the same back court, the team started to gel.
In the conference championship game, Baylor University used a box-and-one defense - with Texas leading scorer Larry Robinson receiving the one-on-one attention.
Krueger and Larrabee answered by making 11 of 14 first-half, mid-range jumpers. By game's end, Krueger had 26, Larrabee 22 and Robinson 20 and Texas had won the Southwest Conference.
"It didn't matter who scored, we played to win," said Krueger. "And whatever we needed to do to accomplish that, we did it."
After Texas, Krueger was drafted in the later rounds of the NBA draft by the Houston Rockets.
But at only 6' 0," Krueger knew he would have a difficult time making the team.
"Houston had signed John Lucas to a $100,000 signing bonus and already had Calvin Murphy," said Krueger. "There was no way they were going to keep three guys under 6-1 on their roster."
"It was a nice learning experience though, and I was just excited to get drafted," said Krueger, who now lives in Austin, Texas.
Krueger largely credits the three most influential men of his young life with getting him to that point in his career - basketball coaches Robert Krueger, Jim Lind and Leon Black.
"I've always said I've had three dads in my life," said Krueger. "I felt very blessed because some people don't have a father figure. But I was lucky to have three people who I really looked up to."
Krueger had an impact on members of the basketball community as well.
His inventive style of play and his practice routine made him an example for others to measure themselves by.
Said Lind, "I always looked at Dan as being a self-motivating innovator. The other kids in the conference tried to emulate him for years after."