Hank Egan

Hank Egan (born August 17, 1937)

Teams coached: Air Force Falcons, San Diego Toreros
Air Force record: 148-185 (.444)
San Diego record: 156-126 (.553)
Overall record: 304-311 (.494)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  1  (1987)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • WCC Regular Season Champion:  1  (1987)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2005-2010 Cleveland Cavaliers (asst)
2002-2003 Golden State Warriors (asst)
1994-2002 San Antonio Spurs (asst)
1984-1994 San Diego
1971-1984 Air Force
1966-1971 Air Force (asst)

Hank Egan Facts

  • Henry Patrick Egan, Jr.
  • Born August 17, 1937
  • Alma Mater: United States Naval Academy (BS, 1960)
  • Played basketball for Hall of Fame coach Ben Carnevale at Navy, where he was part of two NCAA Tournaments (1959 & 1960)
  • Started his coaching career at the Air Force Academy, spending five years as an assistant under Bob Spear
  • Elevated to head coach of the Falcons in 1971 and compiled a 148-185 record over 13 seasons at the helm
    • Finished above .500 in four of his first seven seasons (program was Independent for much of his tenure)
    • Later inducted into the Air Force Athletic Hall of Fame (class of 2017)
  • Left for San Diego in 1984 and coached the Toreros for the next ten seasons
    • Went 156-126 overall, highlighted by the 1986-87 team that went 24-6, won the WCAC and made the NCAA Tournament
    • Only had three losing records during his tenure and finished 5th or better in conference in all but two seasons
    • In 2011, Egan was inducted into the Pagni Family Athletic Hall of Fame at San Diego
  • Joined the coaching staff of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs in 1994, coaching there for the next eight seasons
    • Originally assisting Bob Hill, Egan spent six years working for one of his own former assistants in Gregg Popovich
    • Egan was on the staff in 1999 when the Popovich and the Spurs won their first-ever NBA Championship
  • Egan worked under another former assistant of his, Eric Musselman, in Golden State during the 2002-03 season
  • Later joined the Cleveland Cavaliers staff, assisting Mike Brown (yet another former assistant of his) for five seasons
    • Coincided with the end of LeBron James’ first tenure in Cleveland; the Cavs reached at least the Eastern Semifinals in each year that Egan was there and in 2007 reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history (swept by the Spurs in four games)

Hank Egan Coaching Tree

  • Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s)
  • Mike Brown (Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers)
  • David Fizdale (New York Knicks, Memphis Grizzlies)
  • Todd Lee (South Dakota, Kentucky Wesleyan)
  • Reggie Minton (Air Force, Dartmouth)
  • Eric Musselman (Arkansas, Nevada, LA D-Fenders, Reno Bighorns, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors)
  • Gregg Popvich (San Antonio Spurs, Pomona-Pitzer)
  • Kyle Smith (Stanford, Washington State, San Francisco, Columbia)
  • Rodney Tention (Loyola Marymount, College of Notre Dame)