Terrible news this morning: Oklahoma St. women's basketball Head Coach Kurt Budke and Assistant Coach Miranda Serna were killed in a single-engine plane crash last night coming home from a recruiting trip.
I first met Kurt at the Final Four in St. Louis 2009. He was part of the "Male Coaches of Women's Basketball" presenter panel along side Tom Collins (head coach at Arkansas) and others. I took a copious amount of notes from Kurt's talk, which outlined his path in women's basketball- starting as a volunteer coach sleeping on his friends couch and painting houses for money.
That presentation really struck a chord in me and helped reinforce the words dedication, sacrifice and commitment.
I spoke with Kurt after the presentation and thanked him for his insight. We kept in touch, and I saw him again in November of 2010 as the University of Rhode Island played Oklahoma St. at the New Mexico tournament. I scouted OK St. and spent about 15-20 hours studying their plays, personnel and coaching style. It was great to see Kurt again in person and see his calm, methodical coaching style first hand.
Our paths crossed again at the Final Four in Indianapolis 2011. We saw each other several times throughout the weekend, always stopping to chat. It was one of those things where you go "geez, we keep running into each other- stop following me!". As fate has it, in the giant arena for the first 2 games of the Final Four, where is my seat assigned- right next to Kurt Budke!
I thoroughly enjoyed knowing Kurt- he was calm, intelligent and so grateful to be a head coach in a highly successful program. What I will miss most is his eagerness to help guide and mentor young coaches. His conversation was genuine; his demeanor gentle; his enthusiasm for women's basketball contagious.
He will be missed.
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