Tex Winter, The Genius Behind The Ascension Of Michael Jordan And Kobe
The legendary coach played an undeniable role in them becoming icons and among the greatest to ever play the game.
Tex Winter, the the legendary offensive basketball architect, innovator of the “triangle” offense and former assistant coach with two modern day hoops dynasties - Michael Jordan's Bulls and Shaq and Kobe's Lakers - died on Wednesday in Manhattan, Kansas. He was 96.
His offensive philosophy and teaching acumen contributed immensely to those iconic teams, playing a huge role in the respective franchises capturing 10 of the last 19 NBA championships.
Previous to joining forces with Phil Jackson as an assistant coach with the Bulls in 1985, he'd already led a fascinating life.
Morice Frederick Winter and his twin sister Mona were born in Texas. When he later moved to California, he'd acquire the nickname Tex.
His father passed away when he was ten years old, and in order to help support his family, he took a number of jobs while in elementary school, one of which was collecting boxes for a local baker in exchange for day-old bread.
The family later relocated to California, where he was first exposed to a basketball genius. In high school, he served as a ball boy for Loyola University's (now Loyola Marymount) hoops squad, which had a player by the name of Pete Newell at the time.
Newell would go on to become a legendary college coach at the University of San Francisco, Michigan State and Cal. A teacher of the game's finer nuances, Newell won an NCAA title at Cal, led Team USA to the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal and later became renowned for his instructional camps, along with working as an NBA scout, General Manager and consultant.
Tex earned a scholarship to Oregon State, where he played basketball and was an accomplished pole vaulter. In fact, he was an Olympic hopeful with a shot at competing on Team USA's track squad in the 1944 games, but those games were cancelled due to World War II.
Instead, he enrolled in the Navy, where he trained as a fighter pilot. In 1946, after three years in the Navy, he went back to school at the University of Southern California where he became an All-American pole vaulter, in addition to playing on the basketball team.
It was at USC where he initially learned the Triangle Offense from his head coach, Sam Barry. He played alongside future Lakers coach Bill Sharman with the Trojans as well.
After graduating from USC in 1947, Winter became an assistant coach to Hall-of-Famer Jack Gardner at Kansas State. Five years later, he became the youngest head coach in major college ball when he took over Marquette University's program. He soon returned to Kansas State, where he led them to the Final Four in 1958 and 1964.
His 1958 squad beat Oscar Robertson's Cincinnati Bearcats in the Elite Eight.
In 1962, he wrote the book, "The Triple-Post Offense", about the strategies that would become famous many years later. The 320-page book examined and outlined the intricacies of the offense, which was called "The Triangle" because it overloads one side of the basketball court with a triangle formation of players. With an emphasis on spacing and crisp passing, the various and innumerable permutations of the attack always led to an open, preferable shot.
Winter was also the head coach of the Houston Rockets from 1971 to 1973, in addition to heading up the programs at the University of Washington, Northwestern and Lon Beach State
Prior to joining Chicago Bulls in 1985 as an assistant coach, he served as an assistant to Dale Brown at LSU, who Winter had mentored since Brown was a high school coach climbing the ladder.
When Phil Jackson, who was also an assistant with the Bulls, got the head job in 1989, he embraced the passing, cutting, screening, ball movement and penetration schemes of the team-oriented triangle offense that Winter believed in.
They proceeded to win six NBA championships. And when Jackson took the Lakers job in 1999, Winter came with him to Los Angeles, where they proceeded to win four more championships together.
“On behalf of the entire Lakers organization, I’d like to express our sadness at the passing of Tex Winter,” said Jeanie Buss, the Lakers CEO and controlling owner. “Tex helped lead the team to four NBA Championships and was a mentor to many of our coaches and players. In addition to his numerous contributions to the game of basketball, Tex was a wonderful man and he will be dearly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Winter family.”
Winter was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011, and
was known for his sharp critiques of any player that was in need of a verbal rebuke. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Shaq and Kobe were among the recipients of his many tutorials on basketball and life.
And it wasn't until Jordan fully embraced the Triangle Offense and understood what it could do for him and the team, that he went from being an incredible talent to a six-time world champion.
Jordan defined the modern NBA with his ascension, Kobe carried his torch. And Tex Winter played an undeniable role in them becoming icons and among the greatest to ever play the game.
Basketball lost a true legend, whose impact is almost unquantifiable. Tex Winter spent over 60 years coaching the sport, which is immeasurably better thanks to his remarkable contributions.
Tex Winter, The Genius Behind The Ascension Of Michael Jordan And Kobe
