Lester Lane

At 5-10 (1.78) tall, Les Lane was one of our shortest Olympic basketball players ever, but also one of the best all-round athletes to ever grace the squad. At the University of Oklahoma in the early 50s, Lane played basketball, football, and pole vaulted for the track team. He was a starting defensive back on Bud Wilkinson’s powerhouse squads, and on the hardcourt scored 1,180 points, a Sooner record which would not be broken for 11 years. After his college days, Lane played AAU ball, mostly with the Wichita Vickers, whom he helped win a national championship in 1959. After the Olympics in 1960, Les Lane coached on the AAU level for several years, but then was hired by Mexico to coach its national team. Under Lane’s guidance, the Mexican team finished fifth at the 1968 Olympics. He then was hired by a Spanish club, Aguilas Bilbao, and coached there from 1968-70, but quit coaching after a heart attack in the 1970-71 pre-season. In the spring of 1973 he was named head basketball coach at his alma mater, but never held a practice – he succumbed to a heart attack during a pick-up game later that year.