Inductees

Henry Iba was one of America’s most highly regarded basketball coaches and teachers who had a brilliant career that began in Missouri, blossomed in Oklahoma, and was acclaimed internationally. Iba, born in Easton, Missouri was a tough and methodical coach, and the way his teams played reflected this. He developed a “swinging gate” defense (a man-to-man with team flow). Iba’s Cowboys from Stillwater won two NCAA championships, 1945-46 and 1946-47, and 14 Missouri Valley Conference championships before the school became Oklahoma State and switched to the Big Eight.

Iba, who was head coach at Oklahoma State University from 1935 to 1970, came to be known as the “Iron Duke of Defense” for his development of improved defensive strategies in the game of basketball.

Iba also coached the US Olympic basketball team in 1964, 1968, and 1972. He was the first coach in U.S. Olympic basketball history to head two gold medal-winning teams (1964  and 1968).