Bill Fitch (1932-2022)
Teams coached: Coe College Kohawks, North Dakota Fighting Hawks, Bowling Green Falcons, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers
North Dakota record^: 94-45 (.676)
Bowling Green record: 18-7 (.720)
Minnesota record: 25-23 (.521)
Overall record^: 137-75 (.646)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1968)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- MAC Regular Season Champion: 1 (1968)
- NCC (Div II) Regular Season Champion: 3 (1965, 1966, 1967)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 3 (1965, 1966, 1967)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Final Four: 2 (1965, 1966)
Awards:
- NBA Coach of the Year: 2 (1976, 1980)
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2019)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1994-1998 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 1989-1992 | New Jersey Nets |
| 1983-1988 | Houston Rockets |
| 1979-1983 | Boston Celtics |
| 1970-1979 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1968-1970 | Minnesota |
| 1967-1968 | Bowling Green |
| 1962-1967 | North Dakota |
| 1958-1962 | Coe College |
| 1956-1958 | Creighton (asst) |
Bill Fitch Facts
- William Charles Fitch
- Born May 19, 1932
- Died February 2, 2022
- Hometown: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Alma Mater: Coe College (BA, 1954)
- Born in Davenport, IA, Fitch graduated from Wilson HS in Cedar Rapids and attended local Coe College (now D-III)
- Started his career as an assistant for two seasons at Creighton under head coach Theron Thomsen
- Returned to his alma mater in 1958, spending four seasons as the head coach of the Kohawks
- In 1998, Fitch was inducted into the school’s Athletic HOF for his contributions as a coach and player
- Left in 1962 to become the head coach at then College Division (D-II) North Dakota, going 94-45 over five seasons at the helm
- Won the NCC title and reached the D-II Tournament three times, advancing to the Final Four in both 1965 and 1966
- Spent one season as the head coach at D-I Bowling Green, winning the MAC title and going to the NCAA Tournament (finished 18-7)
- Moved on to the Big Ten, coaching at Minnesota for two seasons and going 25-23 overall
- In 1970, Fitch became the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and would spend the rest of his career at the NBA level
- Coached the Cavs (1970-79), Celtics (1979-83), Rockets (1983-88), Nets (1989-92) and Clippers (1994-98)
- Twice named NBA Coach of the Year (1976 and 1980) and in 1981 he led the Celtics to an NBA Championship
- The 1981 Celtics team featured HOFers Larry Bird (in his second second), Kevin McHale, Tiny Archibald and Robert Parish
- Fitch reached the Playoffs a total of 13 times; returned to the NBA Finals in 1986 with Houston (lost to Boston 4-2)
- Other Hall of Fame players he coached during his career include Lenny Wilkens, Nate Thurmond, Walt Frazier, Pete Maravich, Hakeem Olajuwon, Ralph Sampson, Elvin Hayes and Dražen Petrović
- Over 25 seasons, Fitch coached a total of 2,159 games and went 944-1,016 in the regular season and 55-54 in the Playoffs
- In 2019, Fitch was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; was presented by Larry Bird
- Fitch passed away in February 2022 at the age of 89 in Lake Conroe, Texas
Bill Fitch Coaching Tree
- Danny Ainge (Phoenix Suns)
- Butch Beard (Morgan State, New Jersey Nets, Howard)
- Larry Bird (Indiana Pacers)
- Quinn Buckner (Dallas Mavericks)
- Rick Carlisle (Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons)
- M. L. Carr (Boston Celtics)
- Don Chaney (New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers)
- Dave Cowens (Chicago Sky, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Hornets)
- Chris Ford (Brandeis, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics)
- Phil Jackson (Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls)
- K. C. Jones (Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics)
- Jeff Judkins (BYU women’s)
- Jon Lucas II (Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs)
- Darrick Martin (Reno Bighorns)
- Kevin McHale (Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves)
- Jimmy Rodgers (Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, North Dakota)
- Reggie Theus (Bethune-Cookman, Cal State Northridge, Sacramento Kings, New Mexico State Aggies)
- Lenny Wilkens (New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels only; ND was a D-II program during Fitch’s tenure
