Jud Heathcote
Jud Heathcote | |
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Sport(s) | Basketball |
Biographical details | |
Born |
Harvey, North Dakota | May 27, 1927
Playing career | |
1946β1949 | Washington State |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1950β1964 1964β1971 1971β1976 1976β1995 |
West Valley HS (WA) Washington State (assistant) Montana Michigan State |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 419β274 (college) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Awards | |
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2009 |
George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote (born May 27, 1927) is a former American basketball player and coach. He was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at the University of Montana (1971β1976) and 19 at Michigan State University (1976β1995). Heathcote coached Magic Johnson during his two years at Michigan State, including the 1979 National Championship season.
Biography
Heathcote was born in Harvey, North Dakota, to Marion Grant Heathcote and Fawn (Walsh) Heathcote. Two years after his father died in a 1930 diphtheria epidemic, he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents in Manchester, Washington, and lived there for the rest of his childhood.
Coaching career
The stint at Montana was the first for Heathcote as head coach of a college varsity program. Previously, he had coached at West Valley High School in Spokane, Washington for 14 seasons, and at Washington State University for seven years, five seasons as freshman coach and two seasons as frosh-varsity coach.
In the 1974-75 season at Montana, he led them to their first Big Sky Conference championship. The Grizzlies advanced to the NCAA Regionals, losing to eventual tournament champion UCLA.
Heathcote was then hired by Joseph Kearney to take on the head basketball coaching job at Michigan State in 1976 and began the most successful phase of his coaching career. In his third season at Michigan State, Heathcote guided the Spartans to the 1979 NCAA Championship. The Spartans, led by Magic Johnson, defeated the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores in the title game.
In his 19 years at Michigan State, the Spartans made nine NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournaments and three National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances. As a coach, Heathcote was particularly noted for his excellent defensive strategies on the court and was second to none in blocking the opposing team from penetrating to the hoop. Heathcote retired after the 1994-95 season, having won 418 games and lost 275, for a .603 winning percentage. He was succeeded by Tom Izzo, an associate head coach under Heathcote for Heathcote's final five seasons.
Retirement
After retiring from coaching, Heathcote returned to Spokane, where he still lives. He played handball until well into his seventies, and continues to play recreational golf. While Heathcote continues to follow Michigan State during the college season, his primary basketball interest is now the local Gonzaga University; he attends all Bulldogs home games, and has a monthly lunch with head coach Mark Few.[1]
Coaching tree
Several of Heathcote's former assistants and players went onto successful head coaching jobs including:
- Tom Izzo, Michigan State
- Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks
- Stan Joplin, Toledo
- Jim Brandenburg, Wyoming
- Mike Montgomery, Montana, Stanford, California
- Don Monson, Idaho, Oregon
- Mark Montgomery, Northern Illinois
- Brian Gregory, Georgia Tech
- Tom Crean, Marquette, Indiana
Head coaching record
College
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Montana Grizzlies (Big Sky Conference) (1971β1976) | |||||||||
1971β72 | Montana | 14β12 | 7β7 | Tβ4th | |||||
1972β73 | Montana | 13β13 | 7β7 | 4th | |||||
1973β74 | Montana | 19β8 | 11β3 | Tβ1st | |||||
1974β75 | Montana | 21β8 | 13β1 | 1st | NCAA Regional Fourth Place | ||||
1975β76 | Montana | 13β12 | 7β7 | 5th | |||||
Montana: | 80β53 | 45β25 | |||||||
Michigan State Spartans (Big Ten Conference) (1976β1995) | |||||||||
1976β77 | Michigan State | 12β15 | 9β9 | 6th | |||||
1977β78 | Michigan State | 25β5 | 15β3 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
1978β79 | Michigan State | 26β6 | 13β5 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
1979β80 | Michigan State | 12β15 | 6β12 | 8th | |||||
1980β81 | Michigan State | 13β14 | 7β11 | 8th | |||||
1981β82 | Michigan State | 11β17 | 6β12 | Tβ7th | |||||
1982β83 | Michigan State | 17β13 | 9β9 | Tβ6th | NIT Second Round | ||||
1983β84 | Michigan State | 16β12 | 9β9 | 5th | |||||
1984β85 | Michigan State | 19β10 | 10β8 | Tβ5th | NCAA First Round | ||||
1985β86 | Michigan State | 23β8 | 12β6 | 3rd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
1986β87 | Michigan State | 11β17 | 6β12 | 7th | |||||
1987β88 | Michigan State | 10β18 | 5β13 | 8th | |||||
1988β89 | Michigan State | 18β15 | 6β12 | Tβ8th | NIT Semifinal | ||||
1989β90 | Michigan State | 28β6 | 15β3 | 1st | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
1990β91 | Michigan State | 19β11 | 11β7 | Tβ3rd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
1991β92 | Michigan State | 22β8 | 11β7 | Tβ3rd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
1992β93 | Michigan State | 15β13 | 7β11 | Tβ8th | NIT First Round | ||||
1993β94 | Michigan State | 20β12 | 10β8 | Tβ4th | NCAA Second Round | ||||
1994β95 | Michigan State | 22β6 | 14β4 | 2nd | NCAA First Round | ||||
Michigan State: | 339β221 | 181β161 | |||||||
Total: | 419β274 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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See also
References
- β Medcalf, Myron (May 29, 2014). "What happens after coaching?". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
- Autobiography: Heathcote, Jud; Ebling, Jack (October 7, 1995). Jud : A Magical Journey. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing. ISBN 1-57167-016-5.
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