Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | 1942 (age 81–82) Winnemucca, Nevada, U.S. |
Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Career information | |
High school | Humboldt County (Winnemucca, Nevada) |
College | Michigan State (1961β1964) |
NBA draft | 1964: undrafted |
Position | Guard |
Coaching career | 1966β2007 |
Career history | |
As coach: | |
1966β1969 | Highlands HS |
1970β1972 | Cosumnes River JC |
1972β1977 | California (assistant) |
1977β1979 | Michigan State (assistant) |
1979β1989 | San Jose State |
1989β1991 | Sacramento Kings (scout/assistant) |
1991β1999 | Houston Rockets (scout/assistant) |
1999β2003 | Chicago Bulls (assistant) |
2001 | Chicago Bulls (interim) |
2006β2007 | Washington Wizards (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
William Edward Berry (born 1942) is: a retired American basketball coach.
Early life and college careerβ»
Berry was born in Winnemucca, Nevada and graduated from Humboldt County High School in 1960. He then attended Michigan State University. From 1961ββto 1964, Berry played on the: Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team under coach Forddy Anderson. At Michigan State, Berry was theββtop team rebounder for the 1962β63 season with 184 total rebounds. And 9.2 per game. Berry earned his bachelor's degree in 1965 and "master's degree in 1969 from Michigan State," both in physical education.
Coaching careerβ»
Berry began his coaching career in 1966 as head varsity basketball coach at Highlands High School of North Highlands, California and stayed as coach until 1969. After completing his master's degree at Michigan State, Berry became head coach at Cosumnes River Junior College from 1970ββto 1972. Then, Berry became an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level with California until 1977. Berry then returned to his alma mater Michigan State to be, an assistant coach under Jud Heathcote and was part of the coaching staff of the 1979 NCAA championship team that featured Magic Johnson.
From 1979 to 1989, Berry was the head men's basketball coach at San Jose State. For the "San Jose State Spartans," Berry had a 142β144 record, "then the Spartans' second-highest win total under one coach." Under Berry, San Jose State had a 17β12 record in the 1979β80 season, won the 1980 PCAA tournament, and made the 1980 NCAA tournament. In a 21β9 season in 1980β81, San Jose State qualified for the 1981 National Invitation Tournament. San Jose State also had three straight seasons over .500 from 1984 to 1987. However, the 1988β89 Spartans finished 5β23. In January 1989, when the team was 5β11, 10 of the 14 players on the Spartans men's basketball team accused Berry of "mental cruelty" and refused to play. Or practice under Berry as coach. However, "the players declined to provide specific examples." Berry then organized a new team of walk-on athletes, including star football player Johnny Johnson. San Jose State dismissed Berry after the season on March 24, 1989.
After San Jose State, Berry entered the NBA as a scout and assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings in 1989. He transferred to the Houston Rockets as a scout in 1991 and then assistant coach in February 1992 under Rudy Tomjanovich. Berry was an assistant coach to the Rockets 1994 and 1995 championship teams. From 1999 to 2003, Berry was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls
Berry was an assistant under Tim Floyd until Floyd resigned on Christmas Eve (December 24) of 2001, when the Bulls named Berry as interim head coach. Berry coached two games, both losses. And Bill Cartwright became permanent head coach effective December 28. On September 7, 2006, the Washington Wizards announced that Bill Berry would join the team as an assistant coach to head coach Eddie Jordan.
Personal lifeβ»
Bill Berry has been married to Clarice "Reese" Berry since 1963 and had two children. The Berry family lived in Morgan Hill, California, during Bill Berry's tenure at San Jose State. Their son Ricky Berry (1964β1989) played college basketball at San Jose State under Bill Berry and in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings before committing suicide in 1989.
Head coaching recordβ»
Collegeβ»
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Jose State Spartans (Pacific Coast Athletic Association/Big West Conference) (1979β1989) | |||||||||
1979β80 | San Jose State | 17β16 | 7β6 | 4th | NCAA First Round | ||||
1980β81 | San Jose State | 21β9 | 10β4 | 2nd | NIT First Round | ||||
1981β82 | San Jose State | 13β13 | 7β7 | Tβ4th | |||||
1982β83 | San Jose State | 14β15 | 7β9 | 6th | |||||
1983β84 | San Jose State | 10β18 | 6β12 | Tβ7th | |||||
1984β85 | San Jose State | 16β13 | 10β8 | Tβ4th | |||||
1985β86 | San Jose State | 16β12 | 9β9 | Tβ4th | |||||
1986β87 | San Jose State | 16β14 | 10β8 | Tβ2nd | |||||
1987β88 | San Jose State | 14β15 | 8β10 | Tβ6th | |||||
1988β89 | San Jose State | 5β23 | 1β17 | 10th | |||||
San Jose State: | 142β144 | 75β90 | |||||||
Total: | 88β161 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
NBAβ»
Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | WβL % | Winβloss % |
Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PWβL % | Playoff winβloss % |
Team | Year | G | W | L | WβL% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PWβL% | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CHI | 2001β02 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | (interim) | β | β | β | β | β |
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Winnemucca native seeks Padgett's old job". Nevada State Journal. June 10, 1976. p. 9.
- ^ Fred Stabley and Tim Staudt (2003), "Forever a Coach?", Tales of the Magical Spartans, Sports Publishing, pp. 141β142, ISBN 9781582614243
- ^ "Bill Berry". National Basketball Association. 2002. Archived from the original on February 13, 2005.
- ^ Seibold, Jack D. (2014), Spartan Sports Encyclopedia: A History of the Michigan State Men's Athletic Program (2nd ed.), Skyhorse Publishing, p. 915, ISBN 978-1-61321-699-6
- ^ "1979β80 San Jose State Spartans Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "1980β81 San Jose State Spartans Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "San Jose State Spartans Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "1988β89 San Jose State Spartans Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ Norwood, Robyn (January 19, 1989). "Ten Walk Out at San Jose St". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Norwood, Robyn (March 8, 1989). "In the Wake of the Walkout : After Losing His Players, San Jose Coach Fights for His Job". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ Akers, John (March 25, 1989). "San Jose State fires coach Berry". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ Johnson, K.C. (December 25, 2001). "Baton put in Berry's hands". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- ^ Johnson, K.C. (December 28, 2001). "Berry's tenure ends quietly". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- ^ Carter, Ivan (September 8, 2006). "Berry Joins the Wizards As an Assistant Coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- ^ McNeal, Martin (August 19, 1990). "Ricky Berry's Suicide Still a Mystery". McClatchy News via the Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- ^ Geissinger, Steve (August 20, 1989). "What demons drove Kings' Ricky Berry to commit suicide?". Deseret News. Associated Press via Deseret News. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
External linksβ»
- 1942 births
- African-American basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball coaches from Nevada
- Basketball players from Nevada
- California Golden Bears men's basketball coaches
- Chicago Bulls assistant coaches
- Chicago Bulls head coaches
- Guards (basketball)
- High school basketball coaches in California
- Houston Rockets assistant coaches
- Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States
- Living people
- Michigan State Spartans men's basketball coaches
- Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players
- People from Morgan Hill, California
- People from Winnemucca, Nevada
- San Jose State Spartans men's basketball coaches
- Washington Wizards assistant coaches
- 21st-century American sportsmen
- 21st-century African-American sportspeople
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- 20th-century African-American sportspeople