Johnny Orr
Johnny Orr (1927-2013)
Teams coached: UMass Minutemen, Michigan Wolverines, Iowa State Cyclones
UMass record: 39-33 (.542)
Michigan record: 209-113 (.649)
Iowa State record: 218-200 (.522)
Overall record: 466-346 (.574)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1976)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 10 (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 4 (1974, 1976, 1977, 1986)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 1 (1976)
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 3 (1971, 1980, 1984)
- Big Ten Regular Season Champion: 2 (1974, 1977)
Awards:
- NABC Coach of the Year: 1 (1976)
- Henry Iba Award: 1 (1976)
- Big Ten Coach of the Year: 2 (1974, 1977)
- NABC Golden Anniversary Award (2000)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1980-1994 | Iowa State |
| 1968-1980 | Michigan |
| 1967-1968 | Michigan (asst) |
| 1963-1968 | UMass |
| 1959-1963 | Wisconsin (asst) |
Johnny Orr Facts
- John Michael Orr
- Born June 10, 1927
- Died December 30, 2013
- Hometown: Taylorville, Illinois
- Alma Mater: Beloit College (BA, 1949)
- Played at Taylorville HS leading the Tornadoes to a 45-0 Illinois state championship as a senior in 1944
- Was a multi-sport athlete at Illinois until 1945, when he joined the US Navy during World War II
- Finished his education at Beloit College (WI)
- Drafted 20th overall in the 1949 BAA (now NBA) Draft by the St. Louis Bombers
- Spent eight years as the head boys’ basketball coach at Dubuque HS in Iowa
- Joined John Erickson’s staff at Wisconsin in 1959, spending four seasons as an assistant coach with the Badgers
- Became a collegiate head coach in 1963, leading the UMass program for three years
- Arrived at Michigan in 1967, spending one year as an assistant to Dave Strack before taking over as the head coach in 1968
- Won 209 games in twelve seasons as UM head coach, going to two NITs and four straight NCAA Tournaments, including a Runner-up finish to Indiana in 1976
- Left Michigan for Iowa State in 1980, where he would coach the Cyclones for the next fourteen years
- Iowa State had apparently first contacted Orr to inquire about his assistant coach Bill Frieder; when Orr heard the salary that Iowa State was prepared to offer, he negotiated the job for himself
- Went to six NCAA Tournaments and one NIT at Iowa State, winning 218 games during his tenure
- Credited with creating “Hilton Magic,” which describes ISU’s now well-known home court advantage at Hilton Coliseum
- Orr’s teams won more that 76% of their games at Hilton, beating twenty Top 25 teams there
- Retired in 1994 as the winningest coach in Iowa State history
- Along with his wife, Romie, had three daughters
Johnny Orr Coaching Tree
- Mike Boyd (Cleveland State)
- Jim Dutcher (Minnesota)
- Bill Frieder (Arizona State, Michigan)
- Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska, Chicago Bulls, Iowa State)
- Jeff Hornacek (New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns)
- Phil Hubbard (Los Angeles D-Fenders, Dominican Republic national team)
- Jack Leaman (UMass)
- Fred Snowden (Arizona)
- Rudy Tomjanovich (LA Lakers, Houston Rockets)
