some more info from one I wrote previously

Posted on: January 22, 2020 at 06:07:40 CT

Craig Ruby

Letterman - 1918, 1919, 1920

Possibly the winningest Tiger ever, the forward from Westport High in KC came to MU when Hall of Fame coach Walter Meanwell was leading the Tigers. In his first season on varsity he was part of the 1917-18 MU squad that went 17-1 and won the school's first-ever basketball conference championship and finished 12th in the Premo Poll. As the only returning starter the next year, and under a new coach, Ruby and the Tigers finished the year at 14-3, good for 14th in the Premo Poll but the only season Ruby would be associated with MU that they did not win a league title. Coach Meanwell would return for Ruby's final season and MU would dominate. In the 18 game schedule no opponent would top the 30 point mark against MU, and MU would themselves score 30 points in all but 3 games. MU would start 17-0 before losing the final game of the season, earning a #2 ranking in the season's Premo Poll. Ruby became the first two-time All-American in MU history, being named to the prestigious teams in both 1918 and 1919 as well as a first team All-Valley performer all three of his varsity seasons. When Meanwell left after the season, Ruby took over as head coach for the 1920-21 season, becoming the first former Tiger player to serve as coach, and in his two seasons at the helm, led MU to records of 17-1 and 16-1 and consecutive Missouri Valley Conference titles. In his five seasons at Missouri, Ruby's teams went 81-7 (48-5 as a player, 33-2 as coach) and won four Missouri Valley Conference titles. Ruby would go on to coach Illinois (the last MU head coach to leave the position for another head coaching job) and is credited for starting the Kentucky tradition by recommending a young high school coach named Adolph Rupp for their coaching vacancy and Rupp and Kentucky used the system MU had popularized to build one of the most dominant programs in college basketball history.