Roger Craft (left) with 1962-63 assistant coach Gerald Stockton
LOOMING LARGE: Kansas State Grad Roger Craft Casts a Long Shadow Over Bobcat Basketball History
3/14/2023 4:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Roger Craft was a successful Bobcat basketball coach throughout the 1960s
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State men's basketball, which faces the Kansas State Wildcats in an NCAA Tournament contest on Friday at 7:40 pm MT, has only a few connections to Kansas State University or the state of Kansas. One K-Stater, though, looms large in Bobcat basketball history.
Roger Craft joined the Bobcat basketball program as Dobbie Lambert's assistant coach and head freshman coach in the fall of 1960 (Lambert worked as an assistant coach at Kansas State as well) and took over head coaching duties two years later when Lambert retired to focus on teaching. At 6-7, 220 lbs, Craft towered over Bobcat basketball – literally.
Craft stood fourth on Montana State's all-time wins list upon his retirement after the 1968-69 season. He rolled up 92 wins in his seven seasons, and his coaching highlights include two Big Sky Championship (1963-64 and 1966-67) and victories over Texas, Temple and Oklahoma City to win the prestigious All-College Classic in Oklahoma City in December 1966.
Craft established his basketball bona fides even before he entered coaching. The Garden City, Kansas, native played for Hall of Fame coach Jack Gardner in 1952-53 then starred for Tex Winter, who gained fame as an NBA assistant in later years, in 1953-54 and 1954-55. Craft led the Wildcats with 12.1 points and 8.0 rebounds as a senior.
"I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with him my first two years here before Covid hit and he moved," said current MSU head coach Danny Sprinkle. "He stopped by the office numerous times with his wife and it was always great to sit down and talk with him about the past of Bobcat basketball. I thought it was really awesome of him to share some of that information and to see his pride in this program after more than 50 years. That's what makes Montana State special is guys like Roger Craft."
Since roster data became regularly available after World War II, seven student-athletes from Kansas found their way onto the basketball roster at Montana State. Andy Matson, from Kingman, Kansas, was the most productive. He averaged 8.3 points in 1955-56 after transferring from Arkansas City (Kansas) Junior College, and 9.9 points a game in 1956-57. A two-year hitch in the U.S. Army didn't slow him down, as he scored 11.4 points with 3.9 rebounds a game upon his return in 1959-60. Matson scored 765 points in his three seasons playing for the Cats.
In addition to Matson, who became an assistant coach in Craft's final six seasons at MSU, Bobcats from Kansas include: Bob McDonald, Larned, 1957-58; Leon Smith, Larned, 1957-58; Roy Breneman, Junction City, 1960-61; Bill Nath, Wichita, 1965-66; Vance Wentz, Leawood, 2013-14; and Mike Hood, Overland Park, 2020-21.
The first full-time sports information director at Montana State, Ken Nicholson, was one year ahead of Craft at Kansas State. Ken Nicholson brought a sportswriter's flare for story-telling and a precise, detail-oriented approach to Bobcat Athletics in 1956. He served in that role for all but two years until 1976 (he attained his master's degree from KSU in the 1960s), then served the university as its news service director for another decade-plus. He is a member of the Bobcat Athletics Hall of Fame. Another native Kansan who gained fame for his work in the Montana State basketball program, Schubert Dyche helped Ott Romney assemble the school's great teams of the 1920s as the assistant coach and then led the 1928-29 Golden Bobcats to a national crown as named by the Helms Foundation after Romney's departure. Dyche was born in Topeka in 1893, although he spent his formative years in Utah.
The present-day Bobcats also feature a link to Kansas State. The team's nutritionist, Bobcat Athletics graduate assistant Shiann Kramer, has worked without the Bobcat basketball team throughout the year after graduating from Kansas State a year ago. She has also aided in Bobcat Athletics' Fueling Station, which serves the needs of all the department's student-athletes.
By far, though, the strongest presence by a Kansan in the post-World War II era of Bobcat Basketball is Craft. Long-time Bobcat basketball coach Mick Durham called Craft reshaped the Bobcat program. "Bobcat basketball was a big deal under Roger Craft, and Roger was a big deal in college basketball," he said. "He gave the program national credibility."
#GoCatsGo
Roger Craft joined the Bobcat basketball program as Dobbie Lambert's assistant coach and head freshman coach in the fall of 1960 (Lambert worked as an assistant coach at Kansas State as well) and took over head coaching duties two years later when Lambert retired to focus on teaching. At 6-7, 220 lbs, Craft towered over Bobcat basketball – literally.
Craft stood fourth on Montana State's all-time wins list upon his retirement after the 1968-69 season. He rolled up 92 wins in his seven seasons, and his coaching highlights include two Big Sky Championship (1963-64 and 1966-67) and victories over Texas, Temple and Oklahoma City to win the prestigious All-College Classic in Oklahoma City in December 1966.
Craft established his basketball bona fides even before he entered coaching. The Garden City, Kansas, native played for Hall of Fame coach Jack Gardner in 1952-53 then starred for Tex Winter, who gained fame as an NBA assistant in later years, in 1953-54 and 1954-55. Craft led the Wildcats with 12.1 points and 8.0 rebounds as a senior.
"I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with him my first two years here before Covid hit and he moved," said current MSU head coach Danny Sprinkle. "He stopped by the office numerous times with his wife and it was always great to sit down and talk with him about the past of Bobcat basketball. I thought it was really awesome of him to share some of that information and to see his pride in this program after more than 50 years. That's what makes Montana State special is guys like Roger Craft."
Since roster data became regularly available after World War II, seven student-athletes from Kansas found their way onto the basketball roster at Montana State. Andy Matson, from Kingman, Kansas, was the most productive. He averaged 8.3 points in 1955-56 after transferring from Arkansas City (Kansas) Junior College, and 9.9 points a game in 1956-57. A two-year hitch in the U.S. Army didn't slow him down, as he scored 11.4 points with 3.9 rebounds a game upon his return in 1959-60. Matson scored 765 points in his three seasons playing for the Cats.
In addition to Matson, who became an assistant coach in Craft's final six seasons at MSU, Bobcats from Kansas include: Bob McDonald, Larned, 1957-58; Leon Smith, Larned, 1957-58; Roy Breneman, Junction City, 1960-61; Bill Nath, Wichita, 1965-66; Vance Wentz, Leawood, 2013-14; and Mike Hood, Overland Park, 2020-21.
The first full-time sports information director at Montana State, Ken Nicholson, was one year ahead of Craft at Kansas State. Ken Nicholson brought a sportswriter's flare for story-telling and a precise, detail-oriented approach to Bobcat Athletics in 1956. He served in that role for all but two years until 1976 (he attained his master's degree from KSU in the 1960s), then served the university as its news service director for another decade-plus. He is a member of the Bobcat Athletics Hall of Fame. Another native Kansan who gained fame for his work in the Montana State basketball program, Schubert Dyche helped Ott Romney assemble the school's great teams of the 1920s as the assistant coach and then led the 1928-29 Golden Bobcats to a national crown as named by the Helms Foundation after Romney's departure. Dyche was born in Topeka in 1893, although he spent his formative years in Utah.
The present-day Bobcats also feature a link to Kansas State. The team's nutritionist, Bobcat Athletics graduate assistant Shiann Kramer, has worked without the Bobcat basketball team throughout the year after graduating from Kansas State a year ago. She has also aided in Bobcat Athletics' Fueling Station, which serves the needs of all the department's student-athletes.
By far, though, the strongest presence by a Kansan in the post-World War II era of Bobcat Basketball is Craft. Long-time Bobcat basketball coach Mick Durham called Craft reshaped the Bobcat program. "Bobcat basketball was a big deal under Roger Craft, and Roger was a big deal in college basketball," he said. "He gave the program national credibility."
#GoCatsGo
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