![]() As a Pacers assistant in 2009 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | (1930-10-14)October 14, 1930 Pottstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | March 12, 2012(2012-03-12) (aged 81) Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S. |
Career information | |
High school | The Hill School (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) |
College | Penn (1950–1953) |
Coaching career | 1955β2010 |
Career history | |
As coach: | |
1955β1956 | Penn (freshmen) |
1956β1958 | Germantown Academy |
1958β1965 | Penn (assistant) |
1965β1966 | Rider |
1966β1971 | Penn |
1971β1978 | Oregon |
1978β1983 | Penn State |
1983β1986 | Detroit Pistons (assistant) |
1986β1988 | Indiana Pacers (assistant) |
1988β1990 | Charlotte Hornets |
1991β1994 | New York Knicks (assistant) |
1994β1997 | Portland Trail Blazers (assistant) |
1997β2000 | Indiana Pacers (assistant) |
2001β2004 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
2004β2007 | Philadelphia 76ers (assistant) |
2007β2010 | Indiana Pacers (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Richard Alvin Harter (October 14, 1930 β March 12, 2012) was an American basketball coach who served as both a head. And assistant coach in both the NBA and NCAA.
Early lifeβ»
Born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Harter attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he played basketball for the Quakers and graduated in 1953. He served two years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, and then was an assistant freshman coach back at Penn for a year. He then coached at Germantown Academy for three years, then backββto Penn in 1959 as an assistant coach.
College head coachβ»
Harter left Penn in 1965ββto become head coach at Rider University, then returned to Penn as its head coach. After success at Penn, "with just one regular season defeat in his final two seasons," Harter was hired in April 1971 at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He succeeded Steve Belko, who stepped down after fifteen years and consecutive 17–9 seasons to become assistant athletic director.
Harter was regarded as one of the "top defensive coaches in the 1970s," where his "Kamikaze Kids" at Oregon in the Pac-8 were known for a swarming defense. Many basketball notables came from Harter's Duck program, including Stu Jackson and former Oregon head coach Ernie Kent. After seven seasons in Eugene, "Harter left Oregon in 1978," at a salary of $38,000 annually, for Penn State and $41,000, where he stayed for five seasons.
NBA coachβ»
Harter's first job in the NBA was as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons in the 1982β83 season. He left in 1986 to become an assistant for the Indiana Pacers. In 1988, he was hired into his first head coaching position, with the expansion Charlotte Hornets; he was the franchise's first ever head coach. In the team's second season Harter was fired in 1990 during mid-season when the Hornets' record was 8β32. Harter went on to be, an assistant coach for the New York Knicks under Pat Riley (1991-1994), Portland Trail Blazers under P. J. Carlesimo (1994-1997), Indiana Pacers under Larry Bird (1997-2000), and Boston Celtics under Jim O'Brien. Harter joined the Philadelphia 76ers' coaching staff on May 5, 2004. On June 13, 2007, Harter joined the Indiana Pacers for the third time, as an assistant coach under O'Brien.
Deathβ»
Harter died on March 12, 2012, at the age of 81. The cause of death was cancer, said Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky, a co-captain on the 1971 team. Harter died at a hospital at Hilton Head, South Carolina, where he had a residence.
Head coaching recordβ»
Collegeβ»
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rider Broncs (NCAA University Division independent) (1965β1966) | |||||||||
1965β66 | Rider | 16β9 | |||||||
Rider: | 16β9 | ||||||||
Penn Quakers (Ivy League) (1966β1971) | |||||||||
1966β67 | Penn | 11β14 | 7β7 | 4th | |||||
1967β68 | Penn | 9β17 | 4β10 | Tβ6th | |||||
1968β69 | Penn | 15β10 | 10β4 | 3rd | |||||
1969β70 | Penn | 25β2 | 14β0 | 1st | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||
1970β71 | Penn | 28β1 | 14β0 | 1st | NCAA University Division Elite Eight | ||||
Penn: | 88β44 | 49β21 | |||||||
Oregon Ducks (Pacific-8 Conference) (1971β1978) | |||||||||
1971β72 | Oregon | 6β20 | 0β14 | 8th | |||||
1972β73 | Oregon | 16β10 | 8β6 | 3rd | |||||
1973β74 | Oregon | 15β11 | 9β5 | 3rd | |||||
1974β75 | Oregon | 21β9 | 6β8 | Tβ5th | NIT Third Place | ||||
1975β76 | Oregon | 19β11 | 10β4 | Tβ2nd | NIT Quarterfinal | ||||
1976β77 | Oregon | 19β10 | 9β5 | 2nd | NIT Quarterfinal | ||||
1977β78 | Oregon | 16β11 | 6β8 | Tβ5th | |||||
Oregon: | 112β82 | 48β50 | |||||||
Penn State Nittany Lions (Eastern Athletic Association) (1978β1979) | |||||||||
1978β79 | Penn State | 12β18 | 4β6 | 6th | |||||
Penn State Nittany Lions (NCAA Division I independent) (1979β1982) | |||||||||
1979β80 | Penn State | 18β10 | NIT First Round | ||||||
1980β81 | Penn State | 17β10 | |||||||
1981β82 | Penn State | 15β12 | |||||||
Penn State Nittany Lions (Atlantic 10 Conference) (1982β1983) | |||||||||
1982β83 | Penn State | 17β11 | 9β5 | 4th | |||||
Penn State: | 79β61 | 13β11 | |||||||
Total: | 295β196 | ||||||||
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charlotte | 1988β89 | 82 | 20 | 62 | .244 | 6th in Atlantic | β | β | β | β | Missed Playoffs |
Charlotte | 1989β90 | 40 | 8 | 32 | .262 | (fired) | β | β | β | β | β |
Career | 122 | 28 | 94 | .230 | β | β | β | β |
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Obituary: Richard A. Harter". Burlington Free Press. August 12, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ Fentress, Aaron (March 12, 2012). "Former Oregon Ducks basketball coach Dick Harter dies at 81". The Oregonian. Portland. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ Cawood, Neil (April 21, 1971). "'Long, drawn out, tough decision,' says new Duck coach". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 1D.
- ^ Clark, Bob (March 12, 2012). "'Kamikaze Kids' coach Dick Harter, who led standout Oregon teams, dies at 81". Eugene Register-Guard. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ Newnham, Blaine (March 14, 1978). "Harter picks Penn State after all". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1C.
- ^ Harter joins O'Brien's staff - NBA - ESPN
- ^ Dick Harter NBA & ABA Basketball Coaching Record | Basketball-Reference.com
- ^ Celtics find winning combination on defense - NBA - ESPN
- ^ "Philadelphia 76ers Names Penn Alumnus Dick Harter Assistant Coach". Penn Athletics. May 6, 2004. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
- ^ "76-year-old Harter returning for third stint with Pacers". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 14, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
- ^ "Sugar-Former Charlotte Hornets coach Dick Harter dies". Indiavision news. March 13, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ "Ex-NBA assistant Dick Harter dies". ESPN. Associated Press. March 13, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "Dick Harter, former Penn, NBA coach, dies at 81".
External linksβ»
- Dick Harter at Basketball-Reference.com
- Sports-Reference.com – Dick Harter
- Dick Harter at Find a Grave
- 1930 births
- 2012 deaths
- American men's basketball coaches
- Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania
- Boston Celtics assistant coaches
- Charlotte Hornets head coaches
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Detroit Pistons assistant coaches
- High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania
- Indiana Pacers assistant coaches
- New York Knicks assistant coaches
- Oregon Ducks men's basketball coaches
- Penn Quakers men's basketball coaches
- Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coaches
- People from Pottstown, Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches
- Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches
- Rider Broncs men's basketball coaches
- Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
- The Hill School alumni