Jack McKinney is a former college and professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 coach. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams--the Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

, the Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...

, and the Kansas City Kings. In addition, he served as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....

 and the Portland Trail Blazers

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...

.

McKinney's term as head coach of the Lakers lasted for only 14 games because he suffered a near-fatal head injury in a bicycle accident in late 1979. McKinney was the first professional coach for future Basketball Hall of Fame

Basketball Hall of Fame

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...

 guard Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...

.

Paul Westhead

Paul Westhead

Paul Westhead is a basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the University of Oregon women's team...

 succeeded McKinney and led the Lakers to the first of their five NBA championships in the 1980s, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...

 in the NBA Finals

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....

 in six games.

McKinney went on to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award

NBA Coach of the Year Award

The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966...

 the next season at Indiana, leading the Pacers to the playoffs for the first time since the ABA-NBA merger

ABA-NBA merger

The ABA–NBA merger was the merger of the American Basketball Association with the National Basketball Association, which after multiple attempts over several years finally occurred in 1976.- Origins of ABA-NBA competition :...

 brought the team from the American Basketball Association

American Basketball Association

The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

 to the NBA in the summer of 1976.

He also was a longtime coach at Saint Joseph's University

Saint Joseph's University

Saint Joseph's University is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic Jesuit university located partially in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia and partially in Lower Merion Township and located in the Pennsylvania Main Line, Pennsylvania, United States.The school was founded in 1851 as Saint...

where he was also an excellent basketball player and member of the track team. Jack McKinney is a member of the Saint Joseph's and the Big 5 Halls of Fame.

In 2005, McKinney co-authored a book about his experiences at Saint Joseph's, and donates ten percent of the proceeds from that publication to Saint Joseph's. He even adds a personalized message inside the front cover to those who request that when ordering the book through the Hawk Hoop Club at the link below.

External links

• http://www.hawkhoopclub.org/book.htm
• Jack McKinney with Robert Gordon, Jack McKinney's Tales from the Saint Joseph's Hardwood: The Hawk will Never Die, Sports Publishing (2005) ISBN 1-58261-929-8