Jack McKinney (basketball)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jack McKinney is a former college and professional basketball coach. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams--the Los Angeles Lakers, the Indiana Pacers, and the Kansas City Kings. In addition, he served as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Portland Trail Blazers.

McKinney's term as head coach of the Lakers lasted for only 14 games because he suffered a near-fatal head injury in a bicycle accident in late 1979. McKinney was the first professional coach for future Basketball Hall of Fame guard Magic Johnson.

Paul Westhead succeeded McKinney and led the Lakers to the first of their five NBA championships in the 1980s, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals in six games.

McKinney went on to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award the next season at Indiana, leading the Pacers to the playoffs for the first time since the NBA's merger with the American Basketball Association in the summer of 1976.

He also was a longtime coach at Saint Joseph's University where he was also an excellent basketball player and member of the track team. Jack McKinney is a member of the Saint Joseph's and the Big 5 Halls of Fame.

In 2005, McKinney co-authored a book about his experiences at Saint Joseph's, and donates ten percent of the proceeds from that publication to Saint Joseph's. He even adds a personalized message inside the front cover to those who request that when orderding the book through the Hawk Hoop Club at the link below.

[edit] External links

• [1]
• Jack McKinney with Robert Gordon, Jack McKinney's Tales from the Saint Joseph's Hardwood: The Hawk will Never Die, Sports Publishing (2005) ISBN 1-58261-929-8

This biographical article relating to a U.S. basketball player, coach, or other figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.