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Henry P. Iba, one of the nation's most remarkable and successful basketball coaches, died early Friday in a Stillwater hospital. Iba, whose health had been failing in recent months, was admitted to Stillwater Medical Center on Wednesday and died of heart failure, at 1:30 a.m. Friday, a spokesman said. Iba was 88. Known affectionately as "The Iron Duke" for the discipline he demanded of his players and respectfully addressed as "Mr. Iba" by everyone who knew him, Iba coached basketball at Oklahoma State University from 1935 to 1970, winning national championships in 1945 and 1946. He coached U.S. Olympic basketball teams to gold medals in 1964 and 1968 and to the silver medal in the controversial 1972 games. "This is a tremendous loss for one of the most revered members of the OSU family," OSU President John R. Campbell said. "The thing about him is that he has left a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come. His influence will not stop today or tomorrow. His influence On Page 17: Coaches Across U.S. Recall Iba OSU Must Return to Court On Page 20: Questions, Answers With Iba o Warning Signs Preceded Death a Olympics Loss Stuck With Iba Reaction from Allie Reynolds will be felt for a long time. "I don't know of very many people in what I call the university family who are more highly regarded. I would have told you the same thing a week ago that I am telling you today. That's the way it is." Campbell noted that the school's basketball facility was renamed from Gallagher Hall to Gallagher-Iba Arena in conjunction with a $3.6 million restoration project in 1987. "We don't have very many buildings here at Oklahoma State that have names on them," Campbell said. "There are very, very few. We have Engineering North, Engineering South, we have this north and this south. "But there is one that has his name on it and there is a reason why his name is on it. It is because he is so respected." Iba had a 665-316 record in 36 seasons at OSU, which was known as Oklahoma A&M when he started there in the 1934-35 season. Counting two earlier college coaching assignments four years at Northwest Missouri (Maryville) and one year at Colorado Iba had 767 career victories. That's third on the all-time list behind Adolph Rupp's 875 in 41 seasons at Kansas and Kentucky and Phog Allen's 771 in 46 years at Kansas, Baker, Haskell and Central Missouri. Iba is a member of the National Basketball Hall of Fame, the Missouri and Oklahoma state halls of fame and the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. He once told The Oklahoman he had no idea Stillwater would be his last coaching stop. "I never had any ambition to leave for another job," he said. "I wanted to stay right here with the Oklahoma Aggies. I wasn't making any money in those early days, but I just liked the people and I liked the state. I was pretty close to all the athletic people here in Oklahoma and that was a tie I didn't want to leave. "I'm proud of having had an opportunity to be at Oklahoma State." Iba was born Aug. 6, 1904, in Eas-ton, Mo. He attended Westminster College in Missouri and started his coaching career at Oklahoma City's Classen High School in 1928. In two seasons, his Comets had a 51-5 record, won a state championship and finished second in a national tournament in Chicago. In honor of Iba, Gov. David Walters has ordered that state flags be flown at half-staff until 5 p.m. Monday. "Mr. Iba personified the very best traits of sportsmanship, and was more than a coaching legend he was an inspiration and a friend to the countless lives he touched," Walters said. Word of Iba's death spread quickly among the 2,000 delegates attending the National Collegiate Athletic Association convention this week in Dallas. "This is a sad day for the NCAA," said Dick Schultz, executive director of the NCAA. "It's a great loss. I remember our 50th anniversary Final Four celebration (in 1988) and how much a part of the history of basket-ball Mr. Iba was. "He was one of a kind, a great innovator." OSU athletic director Jim Garner received the news while in Dallas. "Words have been failing me all morning," he said. "I think of the word 'gentleman' and Mr. Iba's smiling face comes to my mind. The contributions that he made to our school and to the sport are incalculable." Iba, who was preceded in death by his wife, Doyne (Williams), on Sept. 1, 1983, had one son, Texas Christian University basketball coach Moe Iba. One brother, Clarence, coached at Tulsa in the 1950s and now lives in Fort Worth, Texas. His two other brothers, Earl and Howard, coached high school programs in Oregon and Missouri, respectively, and still live in those states. Services for Iba will begin at 2 p.m. Monday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Flowers may be sent to Strode Funeral Home, 610 S Duncan, Stillwater, OK 74074. The family has asked that any donations be sent to the OSU athletic department in care of the OSU Foundation. Checks should be made out to the OSU Foundation and mailed to OSU Athletic Gifts, 201 Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, OK 74078.

Henry Payne Iba