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Sports

Jack Kraft, the Villanova basketball coach who led team to 1971 NCAA title game, dies at 93

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - In this March 27, 1971, file photo, Villanova University basketball coach Jack Kraft, left, congratulates UCLA coach John Wooden after Wooden's Bruins defeated Villanova, 68-62, to win the NCAA championship in Houston, Texas. Villanova officials say former head basketball coach John "Jack" Kraft, who led the Wildcats to 238 victories over a dozen seasons and a 1971 title game appearance, died Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014, in New Jersey. He was 93. (AP Photo/File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - In this March 26, 1971, file photo, coaches John Wooden of UCLA, left, and Jack Kraft of Villanova, whose basketball teams meet for the NCAA Championship exchange greetings during team workouts at the Astrodome in Houston. Villanova officials say former head basketball coach John "Jack" Kraft, who led the Wildcats to 238 victories over a dozen seasons and a 1971 title game appearance, died Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014, in New Jersey. He was 93. (AP Photo/File) (The Associated Press)

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Former Villanova basketball coach Jack Kraft has died at 93.

The school said in a statement Friday he died Thursday in New Jersey.

Kraft coached the Wildcats for a dozen seasons, including a 1971 appearance in the NCAA title game. He finished with 238 victories at the school.

Villanova coach Jay Wright called Kraft "a winner, a gentleman and an outstanding coach."

Kraft joined Villanova in 1961 and led the team to a 21-7 record and the first of six appearances in the NCAA tournament. In 1971, a 23-6 record got the team to the Final Four for the first time since 1939. The Wildcats lost to UCLA 68-62 in the final.

Kraft, who later coached at the University of Rhode Island, was honored at the Pavilion in 2011, 50 years after his first win, before many former players.