Former Gonzaga assistant, EWU coach Jerry Krause inducted to college basketball hall of fame

Jun. 29—Ray Giacoletti could've gone through every bullet point on Jerry Krause's resume, but he knows that can be a fairly long endeavor. So, rather than outlining the individual contributions Krause made to college basketball in the Inland Northwest — and the country, in many instances — Giacoletti captured his former colleague in a handful of profound sentences.

"I think the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to Jerry Krause, I'm not sure there has been a more giving man to the game," Giacoletti said. "So many people over the years have taken from the game and he gave back to the game. And basically that was his philosophy.

"In a business and society that is all about the mighty dollar, coach Krause has always been about the players and the game. The integrity of the game. You talk about someone who truly exemplifies what we all should've been doing over these years, it's him."

Krause, the former Eastern Washington coach and longtime Gonzaga aide who devoted more than five decades of his life to college basketball, was inducted into the National College Basketball Hall of Fame Wednesday morning.

Krause is one of nine members in the 2022 class, which also features coaching icons such as Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun, John Beilein and Lon Kruger, as well as a quartet of former players that includes UConn's Richard Hamilton, North Carolina's Larry Miller, Furman's Frank Selvy and Providence's Jimmy Walker.

The class will be formally enshrined as part of National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Weekend on Nov. 20 in Kansas City.

"It's well-deserved and doesn't surprise me it's eventually happened," said longtime Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier, now an assistant coach at Colorado. "Jerry's done so much for the advancement of the game. What he's done for the game with his teaching, edcuating coaches and his research to help develop the game and better the game is deserving of Hall of Fame honor."

Krause, now in his mid-80's, has worn a variety of coaching and non-coaching hats since stepping onto the college basketball scene in the 1960s, but is most often recognized in the Northwest for his 17-year stint as EWU's men's basketball coach, along with the two decades he spent working in operations roles at Gonzaga, helping the Bulldogs transform from NCAA Tournament cinderella to national power.

During his time at EWU, Krause ushered the NAIA Eagles into Division II basketball and eventually oversaw their transition to Division I. He compiled a 292-165 record in Cheney, leading EWU to 25-4 in 1976-77, and was inducted into EWU's Hall of Fame in 2005.

An analytics guru, Krause was instrumental in Gonzaga's adoption of advanced statistics and metrics when he joined the Zags as a Director of Basketball Operations and prepared the team's weekly analytics reports until he retired from his position in 2015.

Former Gonzaga guard Kyle Dranginis fondly recalled a Krause story on social media Wednesday while congratulating the longtime GU assistant on his HOF induction.

"Dr. Krause! Well deserved," Dranginis wrote. "Still remember him having me take charges on the asphalt at camp in the summers."

Krause's impact on the game went well beyond his coaching duties. The 84-year-old served as a research chairman for the National Association of Basketball Coaches and was attending his 49th consecutive Final Four in 2017 when Gonzaga advanced to the program's first national championship game, against North Carolina.

He was a long-standing member of the NCAA Rules Committee, served on the NABC Board of Directors and spent time on the selection committee for the National Basketball Hall of Fame.

Krause is a prolific author who's published more than 30 titles, including the renowned "Basketball Skills and Drills" book, and he's produced 31 instructional videos, six DVDs and two CDs while serving as a consultant for many athletic organizations.

In 2003, Krause was the recipient of a "Guardians of the Game for Advocacy Award" from the NABC for the research he conducted in developing a standardized rim testing program. In 2000, he was named to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2000 and simultaneously inducted to the National Association For Sport and Physical Education Hall of Fame.

This story will be updated.