Johnny Orr
Encyclopedia
John M. "Johnny" Orr is a retired American basketball
player and coach, best known as the head coach of men's basketball at the University of Michigan
and at Iowa State University
.
, Kansas
. He grew up in the central Illinois
town of Taylorville
during the Great Depression
. Orr attended Taylorville High School
under coach Dolph Stanley
and in his senior year (1944) led the Tornadoes to a state championship and a 45–0 record, the first team to ever finish a season undefeated in the Illinois High School Association's history. In 2007, Orr was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA
Boys Basketball Tournament," recognizing his superior performance in his appearance in the tournament. After high school Orr went to the University of Illinois
and was the youngest freshman to compete in three sports. After joining the United States Navy
for the end of World War II
, Orr returned to the college game at Beloit College
. This reunited him with his high school Dolph Stanley
, who had came to Beloit College as athletic director, head basketball and football coach.
Orr was initially drafted in 1948 BAA draft by the Minneapolis Lakers of the Basketball Association of America
, the precursor to the NBA
. Orr did not play for the Lakers, and was again drafted the next year in the 2nd round by the St. Louis Bombers
. In 1950, Orr played 21 games for the Bombers before moving to the Waterloo Hawks
for 13 more games.
in Dubuque, Iowa
.
After a long time as an assistant coach, including at Wisconsin, Orr attained a head coaching position in 1963 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
, commonly known as UMass, and guided the team to 15–9 record in 1963–64.
as an assistant under Dave Strack, and was named head coach in 1969. His 1973–74 team made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament and Orr was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. In 1976, Michigan was the NCAA tournament runner-up (to the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers
) and Orr was named National Coach of the Year. Orr remains the winningest coach in Michigan history with 209 wins and only 113 losses.
in 1980. The move came about when the Iowa State Athletic Director
called him to inquire about Orr's assistant, Bill Frieder
. When Orr learned how much Iowa State was willing to pay Frieder, Orr negotiated the job for himself (Frieder then succeeded Orr at Michigan). In Orr's fifth season in Ames, he led the Cyclones to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 40 years. The following season, Orr's Cyclones reached the Sweet Sixteen of the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
with a second round victory over the number five ranked team in the nation, Michigan. Orr claims this was the greatest victory of his career. Orr led Iowa State to four more NCAA tournament berths before retiring from Iowa State in 1994. He remains the winningest coach in Iowa State history with 218 wins and 200 losses.
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...
player and coach, best known as the head coach of men's basketball at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
.
Life as a player
Orr was born in YaleCrawford County, Kansas
Crawford County is a county located in southeastern Kansas in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 39,134. Its county seat is Girard, and its most populous city is Pittsburg. The county was named in honor of Samuel J. Crawford, Governor of Kansas...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. He grew up in the central Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
town of Taylorville
Taylorville, Illinois
Taylorville is a city in Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,246 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat and largest city in Christian County.-Geography:Taylorville is located at ....
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Orr attended Taylorville High School
Taylorville High School
Taylorville Senior High School is a four-year public high school located in Taylorville, Illinois. The mascot are the Tornadoes.THS is part of TCUSD #3 which also includes a middle-school, four elementary schools located in Taylorville and Mt. Auburn Elementary School and Stonington Elementary....
under coach Dolph Stanley
Dolph Stanley
Dolph Stanley was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the ”Silver Fox”, Stanley is best known for holding the "unbreakable" record of guiding five different Illinois High School Association schools into the state tournament...
and in his senior year (1944) led the Tornadoes to a state championship and a 45–0 record, the first team to ever finish a season undefeated in the Illinois High School Association's history. In 2007, Orr was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
Boys Basketball Tournament," recognizing his superior performance in his appearance in the tournament. After high school Orr went to the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
and was the youngest freshman to compete in three sports. After joining the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
for the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Orr returned to the college game at Beloit College
Beloit College
Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...
. This reunited him with his high school Dolph Stanley
Dolph Stanley
Dolph Stanley was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the ”Silver Fox”, Stanley is best known for holding the "unbreakable" record of guiding five different Illinois High School Association schools into the state tournament...
, who had came to Beloit College as athletic director, head basketball and football coach.
Orr was initially drafted in 1948 BAA draft by the Minneapolis Lakers of the Basketball Association of America
Basketball Association of America
The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...
, the precursor to the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. Orr did not play for the Lakers, and was again drafted the next year in the 2nd round by the St. Louis Bombers
St. Louis Bombers (NBA)
The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 1946. The team ceased operations in 1950.- Franchise history :...
. In 1950, Orr played 21 games for the Bombers before moving to the Waterloo Hawks
Waterloo Hawks
The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the Big Four Leagues.- Franchise history :...
for 13 more games.
Early coaching career
During the 1950s, Orr was the head coach at Dubuque Senior High SchoolDubuque Senior High School
Dubuque Senior High School is a four-year public high school located in Dubuque, Iowa. It is one of three high schools in the Dubuque Community School District, and enrolls 1,447 students in grades 9-12. Senior was founded in 1858, and is the oldest secondary school in Dubuque...
in Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
.
After a long time as an assistant coach, including at Wisconsin, Orr attained a head coaching position in 1963 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
, commonly known as UMass, and guided the team to 15–9 record in 1963–64.
University of Michigan
Shortly afterward, Orr moved to the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
as an assistant under Dave Strack, and was named head coach in 1969. His 1973–74 team made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament and Orr was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. In 1976, Michigan was the NCAA tournament runner-up (to the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers are the athletic teams for the Bloomington campus of Indiana University . Athletic teams sponsored by IU Bloomington include cross country, track, baseball, golf, tennis, rowing, volleyball, soccer, football and basketball...
) and Orr was named National Coach of the Year. Orr remains the winningest coach in Michigan history with 209 wins and only 113 losses.
Iowa State University
Orr joined the Iowa State CyclonesIowa State Cyclones
The Iowa State Cyclones are the athletic teams of Iowa State University. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams in 12 sports.*Men's sports...
in 1980. The move came about when the Iowa State Athletic Director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
called him to inquire about Orr's assistant, Bill Frieder
Bill Frieder
Bill Frieder is a former basketball coach at the University of Michigan and Arizona State University . Just before the 1989 NCAA Tournament, Frieder announced that he would leave Michigan for Arizona State at the end of the season...
. When Orr learned how much Iowa State was willing to pay Frieder, Orr negotiated the job for himself (Frieder then succeeded Orr at Michigan). In Orr's fifth season in Ames, he led the Cyclones to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 40 years. The following season, Orr's Cyclones reached the Sweet Sixteen of the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Dallas, Texas...
with a second round victory over the number five ranked team in the nation, Michigan. Orr claims this was the greatest victory of his career. Orr led Iowa State to four more NCAA tournament berths before retiring from Iowa State in 1994. He remains the winningest coach in Iowa State history with 218 wins and 200 losses.
Head coaching record
External links
- player bio at databaseBasketball.com
- Where's Coach Now?
- Here's Johnny Orr. ISBN 0-8138-1291-7