Pete Newell Hall of Fame Legacy
Pete Newell: Hall of Fame coach of the 1959 NCAA champions and 1960 Olympic gold medalists, revered as 'America's Basketball Guru'.
Pete Newell was an American college men's basketball coach and basketball instructional coach. He coached for 15 years at the University of San Francisco, Michigan State University, and the University of California, Berkeley, compiling an overall record of 234 wins and 123 losses. He led California to the NCAA title in 1959, and a year later coached the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Quick Facts
- Role
- Legendary Coach & Player Developer
- Affiliation
- Sacramento Kings (Coach); Sacramento State (Head Coach)
- Status
- Deceased (Legacy Immortalized)
- Key contribution
- Mentorship of NBA Superstars
- Philosophy
- Fundamental Skill & Competitive Toughness
Lore & Background
Newell is one of only three coaches to win the 'Triple Crown' of NIT, NCAA, and Olympic championships. He introduced the reverse-action offense in the late 1950s. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1979, and the 1960 Olympic team he coached was inducted as a unit in 2010. He died in Rancho Santa Fe, California on November 17, 2008, at age 93.
Reader's Guide
Newell's legacy includes the Pete Newell Big Man Award, presented annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to the top frontcourt player in the nation. An annual college basketball tournament, the Pete Newell Challenge, was held in Oakland, California. In 1987, Cal dedicated the court in Harmon Gym as 'Pete Newell Court'.
Did You Know?
- Newell coached the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team to a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, leading a squad that featured future NBA stars Walt Bellamy, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Jerry Lucas.
- After his coaching career, Newell served as general manager of the San Diego Rockets and later the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was instrumental in trading for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
- Newell conducted an annual training camp for centers and forwards known as 'Big Man Camp', which attracted over 200 current and former NBA players, including Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon.
- He never accepted any money for his camp services, stating, 'I owe it to the game. I can never repay what the game has given me.'
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