Great Basketball Coaches (Part 1)
Almost everyone knows about the most famous basketball players. They get all the lime light because they are the ones in front of all the cameras, scoring the points and winning crowd's hearts. They are everyone’s idols.
Little kids want to grow up to be like their favourite basketball stars but no one wants to be the coach. The coaches in basketball or any other sport for that matter are left in the shadows forgotten, until the team loses, or a player misbehaves.
There are many great coaches in the history of basketball, who have been overlooked and forgotten. Coaches like Phog Allen and Red Auerbach, who have had their names written in history only to be remembered as the coach who trained so and so.
This article is a salute to these forgotten heroes, without whom players would never have been as successful as they are today.
Forrest Clare Allen (Phog Allen):
One such coach is Forrest Clare Allen, also known as Phog Allen. He was born on 18th of November, 1885 and passed away on 16th of September, 1974. Allen is known as the “Father of Basketball Coaching”. He was born in Jamesport, Missouri to William Allen, who was a store clerk.
Allen coached many teams including the William Chrisman High School at Independence, Missouri as well as the University of Kansas, Baker University and Haskell Institute. Phog Allen started his higher education in 1904 at the University of Kansas and played basketball under the inventor of basketball, James Naismith himself.
At the same time, he played for Kansas City Athletic Club. His coaching year began in 1907 but he took a break after graduation so that he could study “osteopathic medicine”. This earned him the nickname “Doc”, given to him by his players and friends. It was said that he could cure any type of injury in sports and that he had a “magic touch”.
He healed many high profile players as well as the “civilians”. Phog coached basketball for 50 years and perfected players like Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp. He also managed to get Wilt Chamberlain- one of the greatest basketball players in history- into Kansas.
Phog Allen was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. He managed to create the National Association of Basketball Coaches, which would go on to start the NCAA tournaments.
Arnold Jacob Auerbach (Red Auerbach):
Arnold Jacob Auerbach, better known as Red Auerbach, was born on 20thof September, 1917 and died on 28thof October, 2006. In his career, he coached the Washington Capitols, Tri-Cities Blackhawks and the all popular, Boston Celtics.
Auerbach managed to win a total of 938 games as well as 16 championships. He is known as the “Pioneer of Modern Basketball” and was the one who started the “Fast Break” tactic, which is still used today. These statistics make him one of the most successful coaches in the history of sport.
He was also the first coach to draft an African American player- Chuck Cooper- to his team. Auerbach himself played a little basketball but wasn't much successful due to his height and asthma problem. He passed away due to a heart attack.
Phil Jackson:
Phil Jackson is another legendary coach who made his mark in basketball history. He was born on 17th of September, 1945 at Deer Lodge, Montana and is currently working his magic on the Los Angeles Lakers.
He has also coached Chicago Bulls from 1989 all the way up till 1998. Coach Jackson has so far won 11 NBA titles which is the most a coach has won in NBA history. Jackson’s use of “Triangle Offence” and his somewhat 'holistic' view on coaching caused his players to give him the nickname of “Zen Master”.
He entered the Hall of Fame in 2007. Jackson is also known as “Master of Mind Games”. His motivational tactics were as famous as his coaching abilities. There was one incident: while coaching for the Lakers, Jackson forced the player, Tyronn Lue to wear a sock on his arm during practice. This simulated the compression arm sleeve that Allen Iverson used and basically taught Lue that how a game against Iverson would be like.
(To be continued in Part 2)
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