Tex Winter

Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter (born February 25, 1922) is an American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense.

Early life

Born near Wellington, Texas (a fact which later provided him with his nickname), Winter attended Huntington Park High School in Huntington Park, California and went on to graduate from the University of Southern California in 1947, where he learned the triangle offense from Sam Barry. At USC, Winter was a teammate of Gene Rock, a future professional basketball player. Also a track athlete at the college level as a pole vaulter, Winter was considered a strong candidate for the US Olympic team in 1944. However, the Olympics were cancelled by World War II. He left USC in early 1943 and entered the United States Navy for flight training. His pilot's wings were conferred late the same year. He remained in Illinois for the duration of his service.

College coaching career

After graduating college, Winter immediately entered the coaching profession as an assistant to Hall-of-Famer Jack Gardner at Kansas State University. He would stay in coaching for the next 57 consecutive years.

In 1952, Winter began a two-year stint as head coach at Marquette University, becoming the youngest coach in major college basketball. In 1954 Winter returned to Kansas State.^[1][2] Winter served as Kansas State's head coach for the following 15 years, posting a 261-118 (.689) record. He still owns the record for most league titles (eight) in school history and twice led the Wildcats to the Final Four (1958 and 1964). Winter guided K-State to postseason play seven times overall, including six trips to the NCAA Tournament, and boasts one of the highest winning percentages in K-State's history.

Winter was named UPI National Coach of the Year in 1958 after he led Kansas State to the Final Four by knocking off Oscar Robertson and second-ranked Cincinnati in an 83-80 double-overtime thriller. Junior center Bob Boozer was one of three Wildcats to be named a first team All-America, along with teammates Jack Parr and Roy DeWitz. K-State advanced to their fourth Final Four in 1964. Winter’s Wildcats knocked off Texas Western and Wichita State to reach Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. Two-time Big Eight selection Willie Murrell averaged 25.3 points per game during the run, which ended in a 90-82 loss to eventual national champion UCLA.

In 1962, Winter also wrote the book, entitled The Triple-Post Offense, on the triangle offense – the offense which he utilized with such success at Kansas State. Following his departure from Kansas State, Winter served shorter stints as head coach at the University of Washington (where he was hired by then Athletic Director Joseph Kearney), Northwestern University, and Long Beach State. In total, Winter won 454 games at the collegiate level.

Professional coaching

Winter also served as head coach of the Houston Rockets for two seasons, 1971–1973, posting a 51-78 (.395) record.

In 1985, Winter started another chapter of his life, serving as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls, and teaching the triangle offense to Michael Jordan. He was hired to the position by General Manager Jerry Krause, an old friend he had met while at Kansas State. As an assistant to Phil Jackson, who took over as the Bulls' head coach in 1989, Winter and his triangle offense were an integral part of the Bulls' NBA championships in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998. Winter followed Phil Jackson to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he collected three additional championship rings, in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Winter was also a consultant for the NBA-champion 2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers team.^[3]

Health problems

On April 25, 2009, Winter suffered a stroke in Manhattan, Kansas, while attending a Kansas State basketball reunion.^[4]

Awards and honors

Winter is a member of several halls of fame, including the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the John Bunn Award for lifetime achievement from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.^[5] In June 2010 he was given the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award by the NBA Coaches Association.^[6] On his eighth time on the final ballot for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced on April 2, 2011, that Winter had been elected. He was formally inducted on August 12.

On May 26, 2012 Winter was inducted into the Compton Community College Athletics Hall of Fame, under the category of Basketball.

Head coaching record

College basketball

Professional basketball

Bibliography

• The Triple-Post Offense, (1962)

Further reading

• Bender, Mark (2000). Trial by Basketball: The Life and Times of Tex Winter. ISBN 1-886110-90-5

See also

• NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches

References