Oklahoma basketball coach’s nephew leaves team to focus on academics

Oklahoma sophomore Jarrod Kruger (Photo courtesy of SoonerSports.com)

He would have been eligible to play this year but decided to focus on his academics instead. On his Oklahoma player bio, his major is listed as multidisciplinary studies, but his uncle said he’s interested in some area of business.

Jarrod is from Topeka, Kan. where he played for West High School as a starter for two years. During his senior year of high school, he helped West High to a 16-8 record and a second place finish at the Class 5A State Tournament.

When Jarrod came to his uncle to tell him he wanted to stop playing basketball or Oklahoma and focus on academics, Lon said Jarrod’s biggest worry was that he would be letting people down.

“I said, ‘You’re not doing that,’” Kruger said to The Oklahoman “He said, ‘Well, I don’t want to let the team or you down.’ I said, ‘Hey, what’s important is your academics.’ I think he felt like he couldn’t talk about it publicly but I think he thought he could do better academically.

“It was a little bit difficult but I just want him to be happy and feel good.”