Don Newman
Don Newman (1957-2018)
Teams coached: Sacramento State Hornets, Arizona State Sun Devils
Sacramento State record: 20-114 (.149)
Arizona State record: 18-14 (.563)
Overall record: 38-128 (.229)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
Awards:
- Big Sky Player of the Year: 1 (1980)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2012-2016 | Washington Wizards (asst) |
| 2004-2012 | San Antonio Spurs (asst) |
| 2003-2004 | New Jersey Nets (asst) |
| 1999-2003 | Milwaukee Bucks (asst) |
| 1997-1998 | Arizona State |
| 1992-1997 | Sacramento State |
| 1987-1992 | Washington State (asst) |
Don Newman Facts
- Donald David Newman
- Born November 22, 1957
- Died September 11, 2018
- Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
- Alma Mater: University of Idaho (BA, 1987)
- Graduated from Brother Martin HS in New Orleans, where he was a multi-sport athlete and won a state title in basketball
- Started his college career locally at LSU, playing one season for Dale Brown; transferred to Lake City CC (FL) then to Grambling, though he never played there, before settling at Idaho in 1978
- Played for the Vandals and coach Don Monson for two seasons; was Big Sky POY as a senior in 1980
- Played professionally in the CBA for three years on the Montana Golden Nuggets (1980-83) where he was coached by future Hall of Famer George Karl; appeared in the CBA Finals in both 1981 and 1983
- Also played professional football in Canadian Football League (CFL) despite not playing since high school; was a WR for four different franchises between 1981 and 1986
- Had two brief stints in the NFL with the Seahawks in 1981 and Jets in 1985, but didn’t make the final rosters
- Started his coaching career in 1986 when he became the sophomore boys’ coach at Moscow HS (ID) while finishing his degree, then joined Kelvin Sampson‘s staff at Washington State as an assistant coach in 1987
- Hired in 1992 to be the head coach at Sacramento State, going 20-114 in five years at the helm; fired in 1997
- Joined Bill Frieder‘s staff at Arizona State in May 1997 but was thrust into the head coaching role before the season started when Frieder resigned in September following a point-shaving scandal in 1994
- Went 18-14 in his lone season with the Sun Devils and was not retained after the season ended
- Spent the rest of his career in the NBA, working as an assistant coach for 17 seasons (1999-2016)
- Worked for the Milwaukee Bucks (under Ernie Grunfeld), New Jersey Nets (under Byron Scott), San Antonio Spurs (under Gregg Popovich) and the Washington Wizards (under Randy Wittman)
- Won two NBA Championship rings as an assistant coach, both with the Spurs in 2005 and 2007
- Battled brain cancer for several years before passing away from the disease in 2018 at the age of 60
Don Newman Coaching Tree
- Marvin Menzies (Kansas City, UNLV, New Mexico State)
