名人堂教練Pete Newell辭世 - NCAA

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3709014


Pete Newell was one of the few coaches to win NCAA, NIT and Olympic
championships.

"He's 93. He had a wonderful life, and it was just old age," Shultz said.
"His health was not good, because they had removed two-thirds of his lung and
he had smoked for many years. It was starting to be a real struggle for him
physically. He was getting more weak and dwindling away a little bit."

In 1946 he took a job at a small Catholic school, the University of San
Francisco, coaching basketball as well as baseball, golf and tennis. The Dons
won the National Invitation Tournament in 1949, when it was considered at
least the equal of the NCAA tournament.

Following four seasons at USF, the last concluding with a return to the NIT,
Newell moved to Michigan State. His best season there was 1952-53, when the
Spartans went 13-9 overall and finished third in the Big Ten.

In 1954, Newell was hired at California. The Bears won four consecutive
conference titles and made two trips to the Final Four, capturing the NCAA
tournament in 1959.

The starless Bears had to beat two future Hall of Famers on their way to the
championship. In the semifinals they defeated Robertson and Cincinnati 64-58.
Then in the final, Cal beat West Virginia, which was led by West.

Showing it was no fluke, the Bears beat both teams again the following season
with West and Robertson still in college. Cal topped West Virginia 65-45 in a
holiday tournament and knocked off Cincinnati 77-69 in the Final Four.

Cal lost the 1960 championship game 75-55 to Ohio State, which was led by
Lucas, John Havlicek and Knight.

Emotionally high-strung, Newell lived on coffee, cigarettes and little else
during the season. He was told by doctors to leave full-time coaching, which
he did in 1960 at age 44. His overall record was 234-123, and he beat UCLA's
John Wooden the last eight times they met.

Newell ended his coaching career in the Olympics, when the U.S. team won
every game by at least 24 points.

"He probably impacted more people when he left coaching," said Jeff
Fellenzer, the former tournament director and president of the Pete Newell
Challenge. "He really reinvented himself. He never took a dime working those
camps. He wanted to send a message to the NBA players it wasn't about money."

Newell served as athletic director at Cal from 1960-68, a turbulent era on
the Berkeley campus. He worked for several NBA teams in a variety of
capacities. He was general manager of the Rockets when they were in San Diego
and orchestrated the trade that brought Abdul-Jabbar to Los Angeles when he
ran the Lakers. He was later a consultant to the Warriors and a scout for the
Cavaliers.

Newell is in part to credit for coming up with the "Golden State" name for
the Warriors when they moved across San Francisco Bay to Oakland.

"This is obviously a very sad day for the game of basketball, whether you are
associated with the NBA, college or high school ranks," said Warriors coach
Don Nelson, who knew Newell for more than 50 years.

"Pete was a great coach and a great man who had the ability to relate to
players and people on every level," he said. "A countless number of coaches
and players benefited from Pete's tutelage over the years -- including those
who attended his specialized camps each summer -- and will be indebted to him
for the expertise and wisdom that he provided."

Newell is survived by sons Pete Jr., Roger, Tom and Greg and four
grandchildren.

著名長人訓練營創辦人 Pete Newell於美國時間早上10:45分辭世 享年93歲

R.I.P

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