Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt dies after long illness: NBA Update
Former American college basketball coach and athletic director of the Providence College, Dave Gavitt passed away on Friday at the age of 73 after long infirmity. Dave’s career was full of milestones and accomplishments, which made the game of basketball what we see today.
As a head coach of the Friars, the basketball team of Providence, Gavitt had a 209-84 record, during his tenure of 10 seasons. This is still the best winning percentage in the history of school basketball.
After that, he became the Director of the school’s athletics in 1971. It was Gavitt, who helped the Providence College in reaching the Final Four round in1973. In his era, the college produced a line-up featuring greats like Marvin Barnes, Kevin Stacom and Ernie GiGregorio.
Six years after that, Gavitt along with the number of other north-eastern college administrators formed the Big East in order to keep local college talent in the region. Gavitt became the first commissioner of the Big East and the conference turned into the leading college basketball league of that period. This league gave birth to several National Collegiate Athletic Association and future NBA stars.
Besides that, the “Dream Team” of the 1992 Olympic was created by the committee that featured Gavitt. It was the first time when the National Basketball Association players were included in an Olympic squad. In 1990, Gavitt joined the front office of the Boston Celtics and remained with the franchise until 1994.
The former UConn coach and Mr. Gavitt’s assistant on the 1980 US Olympic Team, Dee Rowe said was shattered on hearing the news and reflected on the career of one of the pioneers of professional basketball in the country,
“I saw Dave maybe three weeks ago and his mind was sharp. He was an incredible friend and gave me the greatest honour I could ever have, being his assistant. Dave came to work with me at Worcester Academy maybe 50 years ago. He was so bright, the most humble guy in the world for all of his greatness. He was never taken with himself. He could have been anything in the world he wanted to be and he made such a difference with anyone he touched. His forming of the Big East, it changed our lives He was a brilliant coach, a brilliant coach.”
For Rowe, Gavitt was among the supreme coaches this game has witnessed and losing him was a irreplaceable loss.
Gavitt got inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and also served as its chairman. He remained the President of the NCAA Foundation and his last job was with the Maui Invitational that lasted for four years (2005-2009).
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