Iowa State men’s basketball: More information revealed on Johnny Orr death

Information on the death of former Iowa State men’s basketball coach, Johnny Orr, was released on the day that a public visitation was held at Hilton Coliseum.

Photo courtesy of Randy Peterson (Twitter).

Plenty of people, including everyone involved with men’s basketball and their fans, were devastated when hearing the news of Orr’s passing on New Year’s Eve. A visitation took place on Thursday at the arena Orr created “Hilton Magic” at.

Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register also gave us the details of what caused Orr’s death.

"Orr died Tuesday at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines from complications of a head injury suffered during a fall at his residence, Polk County Medical Examiner Dr. Gregory Schmunk said."

Peterson also had a picture of the Orr display at the visitation, posted above.

Orr coached the Cyclones from 1980-1994, amassing a 218-200 record with the program and giving them national attention, putting them in the NCAA tournament six times in his last 10 years with the team.

Orr also coached at Michigan between 1968-1980, finishing with a 209-113 record and two trips to the NCAA Elite Eight. He spent his first three years as a head coach at UMass and finished with a 39-33 record.

In Orr’s 29 years as a head coach, he was never fired. That’s a tremendous accomplishment that’s rarely seen in today’s impatient world, but that’s just a tribute to how well Orr was liked by so many.