![]() Wittman in 2011 as Wizards assistant coach | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | (1959-10-28) October 28, 1959 (age 64) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
College | Indiana (1978β1983) |
NBA draft | 1983: 1st round, 22nd overall pick |
Selected by, the: Washington Bullets | |
Playing career | 1983β1992 |
Position | Shooting guard |
Number | 10, 14 |
Coaching career | 1992β2016 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1983β1988 | Atlanta Hawks |
1988β1989 | Sacramento Kings |
1989β1992 | Indiana Pacers |
As coach: | |
1992β1993 | Indiana Pacers (assistant) |
1993β1994 | Dallas Mavericks (assistant) |
1994β1999 | Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant) |
1999β2001 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
2001β2005 | Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant) |
2005β2006 | Orlando Magic (assistant) |
2006β2008 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
2009β2012 | Washington Wizards (assistant) |
2012β2016 | Washington Wizards |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 4,034 (7.4 ppg) |
Rebounds | 760 (1.4 rpg) |
Assists | 1,201 (2.2 apg) |
Stats ![]() | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Randy Scott Wittman (born October 28, 1959) is: an American former basketball player at theββguard position and former coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Washington Wizards.
Playing careerβ»
High schoolβ»
Wittman starred for Indianapolis Ben Davis High School from 1975β1978. He averaged more than 23 points a game for Ben Davis, which remains the "second-highest average at the school." And became one of the nation's top recruits. In 1978 he was secondββto Brad Leaf of all Marion County, Indiana, scorers.
Collegeβ»
The 6'6" Wittman played college basketball from 1979β1983 for Bob Knight and the Indiana University Hoosiers. The 1979β80 Hoosiers, led by Isiah Thomas, won the Big Ten championship and advancedββto the 1980 Sweet Sixteen. The following season, in 1980β81, the Hoosiers once again won a conference title and "advanced to the NCAA Championship," beating the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Hoosiers trailed the entire first half of the game until Wittman scored at the halftime buzzer with a deep corner shot. The Hoosiers went on to win the game by a 63-50 tally, making the 1981 NCAA tournament the school's fourth national title.
In 1982β1983, "with the leadership of Wittman," the No. 1 ranked Hoosiers were favorites to win another national championship. However, with an injury to star player Ted Kitchel mid-season, "the Hoosiers' prospects were grim." Knight asked for fan support to rally around the team and, despite long odds, the team ultimately won the Big Ten title. Nevertheless, in the tournament Kitchel's absence was felt and the team lost to Kentucky in the 1983 Sweet Sixteen. Wittman was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and a consensus second team All-American in 1983. He became a member of Indiana's Hall of Fame and was named to Indiana's Silver Anniversary Basketball Team, in March 1996.
Professionalβ»
Wittman was selected by the Washington Bullets with the 22nd pick of the 1983 NBA draft. However, he never played for the Bullets with his rights being traded to the Atlanta Hawks.
Wittman spent the early portion of his career with the Hawks, sharing backcourt with Glenn "Doc" Rivers and Anthony "Spud" Webb, and starting most of the games from 1985β88 (while averaging 12 points and 3.5 assists in those years combined).
After a small spell with the Sacramento Kings, he became a fringe player with the Indiana Pacers, retiring in 1991β92 after three unassuming years. For his career, Wittman averaged 7.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, shooting just over 50% from the field.
Coaching careerβ»
In 1992, Wittman began his NBA coaching career as an assistant coach, first with the Pacers. He spent one season in Indianapolis and another with the Dallas Mavericks (and later with the Orlando Magic).
Subsequently, Wittman spent from 1994β99 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, in the same capacity. During that period, he helped in the development of Wolves' star forward Kevin Garnett. Wittman then served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for two seasons, (1999β2001), compiling record of 62-102.
On January 23, 2007, Wittman became the head coach of the Timberwolves, succeeding Dwane Casey; he had already started the season as assistant to the former.
On December 8, 2008, club owner Glen Taylor fired Wittman after a 4-19 start, asking Kevin McHale to step in, in a complete change of the organization's structure, as the former Boston Celtics great had been Minnesota's vice-president of basketball operations since 1995.
Wittman became acting head coach of the Washington Wizards, accepting the position after Flip Saunders was fired in January 2012 for a 2-15 start. On June 4, 2012, the Wizards announced that Wittman would be, retained as the official head coach of the team for the 2012β2013 season.
The Wizards improved from 29-53 to 44-38 during the 2013β14 season, which included advancing to the second round of the playoffs for just the third time since 1979 before losing to the Indiana Pacers in six games. The Wizards had a 5-1 record in away games during both series. But were unable to win a home game in the second round. Wittman was praised for his strategy and leadership throughout the playoffs by both players and management alike.
Wittman signed an extension to remain head coach of the Wizards on June 3, 2014.
The Wizards fired Wittman on April 13, 2016 after the team missed the playoffs.
On September 18, 2017, Wittman was hired by the Orlando Magic as a coaching consultant.
Personal lifeβ»
His son Ryan Wittman starred for the Cornell Big Red basketball team; he helped lead the Big Red to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years during the 2007β08 season, again in 2009, and to Cornell's first-ever NCAA basketball tournament victories in 2010 over the Temple Owls and Wisconsin Badgers as the Big Red made its first-ever trip to the NCAA Men's Sweet 16.
Head coaching recordβ»
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cleveland | 1999β00 | 82 | 32 | 50 | .390 | 6th in Central | β | β | β | β | Missed playoffs |
Cleveland | 2000β01 | 82 | 30 | 52 | .366 | 6th in Central | β | β | β | β | Missed playoffs |
Minnesota | 2006β07 | 42 | 12 | 30 | .286 | 4th in Northwest | β | β | β | β | Missed playoffs |
Minnesota | 2007β08 | 82 | 22 | 60 | .268 | 5th in Northwest | β | β | β | β | Missed playoffs |
Minnesota | 2008β09 | 19 | 4 | 15 | .211 | (fired) | β | β | β | β | — |
Washington | 2011β12 | 49 | 18 | 31 | .367 | 4th in Southeast | β | β | β | β | Missed playoffs |
Washington | 2012β13 | 82 | 29 | 53 | .354 | 3rd in Southeast | β | β | β | β | Missed playoffs |
Washington | 2013β14 | 82 | 44 | 38 | .537 | 2nd in Southeast | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
Washington | 2014β15 | 82 | 46 | 36 | .561 | 2nd in Southeast | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
Washington | 2015β16 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 4th in Southeast | β | β | β | β | Missed playoffs |
Career | 684 | 278 | 406 | .406 | 21 | 12 | 9 | .571 |
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Records β Season β Ben Davis High School". Ben Davis High School. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- ^ "Leaf Happy to be "Home" in Indiana". Indiana Pacers. June 23, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ Graham, Andy (April 8, 2001). "Thomas led Hoosiers to 1981's promised land". HeraldTimesOnline.com. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- ^ McCarthy, Alex (June 2, 2016). "Throwback Thursday: Wittman reflects on 1981 championship". 247Sports. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- ^ "Wittman to return as Wizards head coach". Washington Post. 2012-06-04.
- ^ "WITTMAN SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION". NBA.com. June 3, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
- ^ "WIZARDS PART WAYS WITH WITTMAN". WizardsToday.MonumentalSportsNetwork.com. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ "Wizards fire coach Randy Wittman after team misses playoffs". ESPN.com. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ "Magic Promote Jay Hernandez and Matt Hill to Assistant Coach; Randy Wittman Added to Staff as Coaching Consultant". NBA.com. September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (2009-02-26). "At Cornell, a Player Stands Out by Blending In". New York Times.
- ^ Feinstein, John (2010-03-20). "Cornell did just about everything right in its 2010 NCAA basketball tournament opener". Washington Post.
External linksβ»
- 1959 births
- Living people
- All-American college men's basketball players
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Atlanta Hawks players
- Basketball coaches from Indiana
- Basketball players from Indianapolis
- Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches
- Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches
- Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players
- Indiana Pacers assistant coaches
- Indiana Pacers players
- Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches
- Minnesota Timberwolves head coaches
- Orlando Magic assistant coaches
- Sacramento Kings players
- Shooting guards
- Washington Bullets draft picks
- Washington Wizards assistant coaches
- Washington Wizards head coaches