Ed Jucker (1916-2002)
Teams coached: Merchant Marine Mariners, RPI Engineers, Cincinnati Bearcats, Cincinnati Royals, Rollins Tars
Cincinnati record: 113-28 (.801)
Overall record^: 270-122 (.689)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 2 (1961, 1962)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3 (1961, 1962, 1963)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 3 (1961, 1962, 1963)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 3 (1961, 1962, 1963)
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- Missouri Valley Regular Season Champion: 3 (1961, 1962, 1963)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 2 (1974, 1976)
- Helms Foundation National Championships: 2 (1961, 1962)
Awards:
- NABC Coach of the Year: 1 (1963)
- Henry Iba Award: 1 (1963)
- UPI Coach of the Year: 1 (1963)
- Missouri Valley Coach of the Year: 2 (1961, 1963)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1972-1977 | Rollins |
1967-1969 | Cincinnati Royals |
1960-1965 | Cincinnati |
1953-1960 | Cincinnati (asst) |
1948-1953 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
1945-1948 | US Merchant Marine Academy |
Ed Jucker Facts
- Edwin Louis Jucker
- Born July 8, 1916
- Died February 2, 2002
- Hometown: Norwood, Ohio
- Alma Mater: University of Cincinnati (BA, 1940)
- Played basketball, baseball and golf at UC, lettering in basketball for three years under Rip Van Winkle and Clark Ballard
- After graduating in 1940, Jucker joined the US Navy and served during WWII
- Started coaching in 1945, spending three years coaching the Merchant Marine squad to a 30-17 record over three years
- Went on to coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY for five seasons, with an overall 46-35 record
- Spent seven years as an assistant coach at his alma mater under head coach George Smith
- Time as an assistant included trips to the NCAA Final Four in 1959 and 1960, what was the beginning of a run of five-straight F4 appearances for Cincinnati
- Also served as the head baseball coach at Cincinnati from 1954-60, going 87-38 overall
- Recruited Sandy Koufax to walk-on; later gave him a partial scholarship after seeing his first Bearcats practice
- Had his number retired by the baseball program, just the second person to receive this honor
- Named the head coach at Cincinnati ahead of the 1960 season when Smith transitioned to athletic director at UC
- Had as successful a first three years at Cincinnati as imaginable, winning the NCAA National Championship in both 1961 and 1962 and finishing as Runner-up in 1963 (a 2-point loss to Loyola Chicago)
- Went 113-28 during his five-year tenure as head coach, going 82-6 in his first three seasons (with three MVC titles)
- Jucker left Cincinnati after the 1964-65, in which the Bearcats finished 14-12 (5-9)
- Spent two years as the head coach of the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA (now the Sacramento Kings)
- Went 80-84 overall, missing the playoffs in both seasons
- Coached Oscar Robertson, who played at UC when Jucker was an assistant, and Jerry Lucas, among others with the Royals
- Returned to the college ranks in 1972, helping build up the program at D-II Rollins (Winter Park, FL) for five seasons
- Later served as the school’s athletic director from 1981 to 1983
- Inducted into the UC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame posthumously in 2014
- Passed away in 2002 at his home on Callawassie Island, SC, aged 85
- Survived by his wife, Joanne, his two sons and two daughters
Ed Jucker Coaching Tree
- Tay Baker (Xavier, Cincinnati)
- John Powless (Wisconsin)
- Tony Yates (Cincinnati)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at various levels of collegiate basketball only