John Jack Kraft (February 10, 1921 – August 28, 2014) was an American basketball coach who coached Villanova for 12 years, from 1961 through 1973. He compiled a 238–95 record (.715). Kraft led Villanova to the NCAA Tournament six times, and five times to the NIT. Only once did Kraft's teams fail to earn a post-season bid, in his final season of 1973. The 1971 team, led by Howard Porter, reached the NCAA Championship game, and lost to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

at the height of the UCLA dynasty. However, that appearance was subsequently erased from the books after Porter was retroactively declared ineligible for signing a professional contract midway through his senior year. Notable players who played for Jack Kraft at Villanova include

Chris Ford Christopher Joseph Ford (born January 11, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He is known for making the first counted NBA three-point shot on October 12, 1979. Amateur career A 6-foot-5 (1.96 m) guard from ...

Tom Ingelsby Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

Wali Jones Walter Jones (born February 14, 1942) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a 6'2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) guard. Early life Born in Philadelphia, Jones played at Overbrook High School, the same school that had ...

, Bill Melchionni, Howard Porter, Hank Simeontkowski, Jim Washington, and Hubie White. Kraft died on August 28, 2014, at the age of 93 in Cape May County, New Jersey. In honor of his memory, the Villanova basketball players wore a JK decal on their uniforms for the 2014–15 season.

Head coaching record

* NCAA Tournament appearance and standing as tournament runner-up vacated after Howard Porter was ruled ineligible. Official record for 1970-71 is 23–6. & Record at Villanova is 238–95, and overall record is 341–183, without vacated games.

References

1921 births 2014 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States Rhode Island Rams men's basketball coaches Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players Villanova Wildcats men's basketball coaches {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub

Head coaching record

See also

References