Dutch Dehnert

This article is about the Basketball Hall of Fame player. For the Providence Steamrollers player, see Red Dehnert.

Henry G. "Dutch" Dehnert (April 5, 1898 – April 20, 1979) was an American basketball player whose career lasted from 1915 to 1935.

Dehnert, a bulky forward born in New York City, New York, is mostly known for his time with the Original Celtics and is sometimes credited with inventing the pivot play. He later coached several teams in the NBL, ABL and BAA.

One of those teams Dehnert coached was the Sheboygan Red Skins, who won NBL divisional titles in 1944-45 and 1945-46 under Dehnert's guidance. Dehnert's greatest coup during his time in Sheboygan was his signing of three East Coast stars: Al Lucas of Fordham, Al Moschetti of St. John's and Bobby Holm of Seton Hall. Buoyed by this added strength, the Red Skins took a 2-0 lead over the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in the 1945 NBL championship series, only to be swept in the remaining three games. In 1946, Dehnert led Sheboygan to a meeting with the vaunted Rochester Royals in the championship series. Rochester swept the Red Skins. The next season, Dehnert became first head coach of the Cleveland Rebels for the Basketball Association of America's first season.^[1]

He was the uncle of Providence Steamrollers player Red Dehnert.^[2]

References

Further reading

• Peterson, Robert W. (2002). "The Rise of the Original Celtics". Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketball's Early Years. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 69–79. ISBN 0-8032-8772-0. 

External links

• Basketball Hall of Fame profile