TCU mourns loss of coaching great Jim Killingsworth
6/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 10, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Former TCU men's basketball head coach Jim Killingsworth passed away Sunday morning in Tulsa, Okla., at the age of 83. Services will be Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the First Methodist Church in Glen Rose, Texas.
A seasoned coach who molded winning teams at every stop, Killingsworth became head coach at TCU in the spring of 1979. "Killer" took what was the last-place team in the Southwest Conference and molded the Horned Frogs into a two-time SWC champion and an NCAA Tournament team ranked among the top 20.
In 1982, the Frogs posted their first winning season in 10 years and won an SWC postseason tournament game for the first time. The following year, TCU had its best season since 1968 with a 23-11 record, and advanced to the third round of the National Invitation Tournament. In 1986, the Frogs shared a three-way tie for the SWC championship and earned another NIT berth.
Killingsworth's final TCU team went 24-7 and won the Southwest Conference title in 1987. In addition, the Frogs defeated Marshall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Killingsworth announced his retirement two days following TCU's one-point, second-round loss to Notre Dame.
Over his eight years in Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs garnered a 130-106 (.551) overall record and went 64-64 in conference play. His four victories over top-15 teams rank as the most in school history.
A native of Checotah, Okla., Killingsworth served in the Army Air Force during World War II. He graduated from Northeastern Oklahoma University in 1948 and began his coaching career at Stidham (Okla.) High School that year.
During a 12-year high school coaching career, he also served at Schulter, Lindsey and Pawhuska high schools and compiled a 305-50 record. He also found time to earn a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1954.
Killingsworth's collegiate coaching career began in 1961 as the freshman coach at the University of Tulsa, a post he held for three seasons.
He then moved on to Cerritos Junior College in California prior to the 1964-65 campaign and compiled a 158-47 record in six seasons. His first team was undefeated in conference play, and his 1968 team went 31-3 and won the California Junior College championship.
Killingsworth became head coach at Idaho State in 1971, spending six seasons there and winning conference titles in 1974, 1976 and 1977, while compiling a 110-54 record. He took the head coaching job at Oklahoma State in 1977 and was 22-31 in two seasons before coming to TCU.
