Larry Krystkowiak

Larry Brett Krystkowiak ( /krɨsˈkoʊviæk/ kris-koh-vee-ak;^[1] born September 23, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player, and current head coach of the Utah Utes men's basketball team.^[2] His nicknames include Krysko and Special K.^[3] He was born in Missoula, Montana^[3] but grew up primarily in Shelby, Montana, but finished his high school career at Big Sky High School in Missoula.^[4]

College career

Krystkowiak played college basketball for the University of Montana from 1982 to 1986 and still holds the school records for career points scored (2,017) and rebounds (1,105).^[5] He is the only person to have been named Big Sky Conference MVP three times (1984–1986).^[6]

Professional playing career

Krystkowiak was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2nd round (28th overall pick) of the 1986 NBA Draft. He played power forward for nine seasons in the NBA, spending the bulk of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He also played for the San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1988–89 season he averaged 12.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and over 30 minutes per game for the Bucks.^[3] Over his NBA career, he averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest.^[3]

Coaching career

Krystkowiak began his coaching career in 1998 as an assistant to Don Holst at his alma mater, the University of Montana. He coached at Montana until 2000 when he left to join Old Dominion as an assistant under former Griz head coach Blaine Taylor.^[6] He spent one season (2001–2002) at Old Dominion.

Krystkowiak got his first opportunity as a head coach with the CBA's Idaho Stampede in 2003–04. In his single season as the Stampede's head coach, he led the team to a 37–16 record and a CBA championship game berth.^[5]

He was hired as head men's basketball coach at the University of Montana in May 2004. He led the Griz to a 42–20 overall record over the course of the next two seasons, reaching the NCAA tournament each year as a result of winning the Big Sky Conference tourney. In 2006, the Grizzlies beat heavily favored fifth seed Nevada in the NCAA Tournament.

In June, 2006, Krystkowiak left Montana to take a job as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, under Terry Stotts. Krystkowiak was responsible for working with the Milwaukee's big men, notably second year players Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva.^[7] He was named head coach of the team on March 14, 2007, after the team fired Stotts, who had led the Bucks to a 23–41 record during the 2006–07 season.^[8] He signed a reported 4-year contract with the Bucks, with an average annual salary of $2 million^[9] Krystkowiak's NBA head coaching debut on March 15, 2007, resulted in a 101–90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

On April 17, 2008, Krystkowiak was fired as Milwaukee Bucks head coach after a disappointing season in which the Bucks compiled the league's sixth worst record.^[10]

In July 2010, Krystkowiak joined a strong New Jersey Nets coaching staff alongside Avery Johnson and Sam Mitchell.^[11]

On April 3, 2011 it was announced that Krystkowiak would take over the head coaching position for the University of Utah men's basketball team as they transitioned into Utah's first season in the newly realigned PAC-12.^[2]

Personal life

Larry and his wife, Jan, have five children, Cam, Luc, Ben and twin girls Samantha and Finley.^[5] Further details about his youth and background, including his relationship with his father are described in the SLTrib article.^[12]

Coaching record

Larry Krystkowiak's record as a head coach.

CBA

Men's college basketball

NBA

* Record is only for portion of the season after Krystkowiak took over. Finish is for full season.

See also

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds

References

External links

• NBA stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
• "Krystkowiak's road to Milwaukee as a player"