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my close friends, Mark Rudner, the circle was Dave Schellhase tightened, and soon the two of us could talk Forward, 1964-66 grandchildren when we met — as we did "Office 1: Two desks facing the door, Joe fairly often in Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (Sexson) and Bob in the Fieldhouse. Office 2: workings." 10 feet away, Red (Mackey's office). Office 3: 12 Tom Pritchard feet away, head coach Ray (Eddy) and a little Forward, 1961-63 later George (King). "In the Purdue basketball community, I "What a great place to drop by and see have probably known 'Kinger' the longest. I what practice held, see who they were rewas at (Indianapolis) Shortridge when Bob cruiting, see who they were PO'd with, and in was the reserve and assistant varsity coach. I general be a nuisance. Many of us did just that just realized today that I have known him for daily. Bet it's not like that now. " 57 years. Tough, but fair "One of the many things I admired in Bob Jerry Sichting was his continued love for high school basketGuard, 1976-79 ball and scouting. I went to several high school "He could be tough with you if he needgames with him while at Purdue and he would ed to be. He had been around so long you teach throughout the whole game." couldn't pull the wool over his eyes." Jerry Nichols Forward, 1973-76 "There were two reasons I chose Purdue to continue my education and play basketball. No. 1: Coach Bob. No. 2: Coach Bob — he made me feel like I was part of his family. "Coach not only helped teach me about the game of basketball and what it took to get to higher levels, but he also taught me about the game of life and how to be successful (even though he kicked my ass for skipping a few classes). "Coach was very instrumental in the lives of countless student-athletes and most have gone on to lead very productive lives due to the influence of the 'King of Men."" Walter Jordan Forward, 1975-78 "One of the things I know for sure is that Coach Bob truly cared for and loved each of us … he will be sorely missed! I can hear him now: 'Make sure you get to class!'" Surrogate father Ted Reasoner Center, 1966-69 "My father passed away prior to my junior year at Purdue. At that time Bob King officially became my surrogate father. But even prior to that during my freshman year, Bob started stepping into that role. At the beginning of that year I lost 30 pounds of weight in 30 days. The Story Of 'Coach Bob' Bob King was born to Thomas and Susie Ransdell King on Aug. 20, 1920, in Lebanon. He moved to Indianapolis and graduated from Shortridge H.S. in 1937. He was one of the last to have seen John Wooden play in person, as Wooden was one of King's boyhood heroes. King served as assistant coach at Purdue from 1960-1974, working for Ray Eddy, George King (no relation), Fred Schaus and Lee Rose. Among the standouts he recruited were fellow Purdue Hall-ofFamers Rick Mount and Dave Schellhase. From 1974-1993, King guided hundreds of Boilermaker student-athletes as they fulfilled their academic requirements. Away from Purdue, King held numerous top leadership positions in Indiana coaching organizations. Among them, he served as executive director of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, which he helped organize. He also served as president of the Indiana Collegiate Coaches Association. The Purdue men's basketball team's Assist Award is named in his honor, and the lower level Mackey Arena conference room is named in honor of him and his late wife, Nancy H. Hacker King, who he married on Aug. 2, 1952. She passed away on April 20, 2006. King was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001, 15 years after being named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. King enjoyed a widely varied collegiate playing career, competing in football and basketball at South Carolina, Toledo and Butler. He was the Butler basketball team captain as a senior. He also attended Newberry College in South Carolina, and Central-Normal in Danville, Ill., which might have explained why it took him 10 years to graduate college. He was in the Army, but bad knees kept him out of active service. King coached basketball and football at Sacred Heart High School (1947-48) and Shortridge High School (1948-60) before coming to Purdue. King is survived by his two children, Susan Rudner (husband: Mark), of Schaumburg, Ill., and a son, Mike King, of Indianapolis. —Alan Karpick GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 19 • 11