Tex Winter
Tex Winter (1922-2018)
Teams coached: Marquette Warriors, Kansas State Wildcats, Washington Huskies, Houston Rockets, Northwestern Wildcats, Long Beach State 49ers
Marquette record: 25-25 (.500)
Kansas State record: 261-118 (.689)
Washington record: 45-35 (.563)
Northwestern record: 44-87 (.336)
Long Beach State record: 78-69 (.531)
Overall record^: 453-334 (.576)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6 (1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1968)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 6 (1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1968)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 2 (1958, 1964)
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 1 (1980)
- Big Seven/Eight Regular Season Champion: 8 (1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1968)
Awards:
- UPI Coach of the Year: 1 (1958)
- Big Eight Coach of the Year: 3 (1958, 1959, 1960)
- NABC Golden Anniversary Award (1999)
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2011)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2010)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1999-2008 | Los Angeles Lakers (asst) |
| 1985-1998 | Chicago Bulls (asst) |
| 1983-1985 | LSU (asst) |
| 1978-1983 | Long Beach State |
| 1973-1978 | Northwestern |
| 1971-1973 | Houston Rockets |
| 1968-1971 | Washington |
| 1953-1968 | Kansas State |
| 1951-1953 | Marquette |
| 1947-1951 | Kansas State (asst) |
Tex Winter Facts
- Morice Fredrick Winter
- Born February 25, 1922
- Died October 10, 2018
- Hometown: Wellington, Texas
- Alma Mater: University of Southern California (BA, 1947)
- The Texas-native earned the nickname “Tex” when his mother moved him to California in 1936
- Graduated from Huntington Park HS in 1940; worked as a ballboy for Loyola Marymount alongside future college coaches Phil Woolpert and Pete Newell
- Attended Compton CC (CA) then played basketball and competed in pole vault at Oregon State for two years
- Considered a strong candidate for the cancelled 1944 Olympics, Winter entered the US Navy in 1943
- After his military service, Winter finished his degree and playing career at USC, where he learned the triangle offense from Trojans’ head coach Sam Barry
- Joined Jack Gardner‘s staff at Kansas State in 1947, working with the Wildcats for four seasons
- Spent two years as the head coach at Marquette before returning to K-State in 1953
- Went 261-118 in 15 seasons, leading the team to six NCAA Tournaments and eight Big Seven/Eight titles
- Reached the Final Four twice (1958 and 1964) and was named UPI Coach of the Year in 1958
- Was the head coach at Washington (three years), Northwestern (five years) and Long Beach State (five years) but never returned to the NCAA Tournament
- In between college jobs, Winter posted a 51-78 record in two seasons as the head coach of the Houston Rockets
- Also spent two seasons on Dale Brown‘s staff at LSU
- Returned to the professional ranks in 1985, joining the staff of new Chicago Bulls head coach Stan Albeck
- Stayed on with the Bulls through the tenure of Doug Collins and the entirety of Phil Jackson’s time in Chicago
- Was on the bench for all six NBA Championships with Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
- Stayed on with the Bulls through the tenure of Doug Collins and the entirety of Phil Jackson’s time in Chicago
- Joined Jackson again in 1999 as an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers, working with the team for nine seasons
- During his tenure LA, Winter was a part of another three NBA titles, giving him a total of nine in his career
- Served as a consultant to the team for the 2008-09 season, in which the Lakers again won the NBA title
- A stroke suffered in 2009 resulted in Winter’s retirement from basketball
- Lived in Manhattan, Kansas after retiring until October 2018, when he passed away at the age of 96
- Inducted into the College Basketball HOF in 2010 and Naismith HOF in 2011
- Also a member of the Kansas Sports HOF and Compton CC Athletics HOF (2012)
- Along with his wife has three sons
Tex Winter Coaching Tree
- Cotton Fitzsimmons (Kansas State, five NBA franchises)
- Bill Guthridge (North Carolina)
- Craig Hodges (Chicago State)
- George Irvine (Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers)
- Lynn Nance (Washington, Saint Mary’s, Central Missouri, Iowa State)
- Howie Shannon (Virginia Tech)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only
