Dan Peterson

Last updated
Dan Peterson
Danpeterson.jpg
Peterson, in 2008
Personal information
Born (1936-01-09) January 9, 1936 (age 88)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Career information
High school Evanston Township
(Evanston, Illinois)
College Northwestern [1]
Coaching career1962–1987, 2011
Career history
As coach:
1962–1963 McKendree (assistant)
1963–1965 Michigan State (assistant)
1965–1966 Navy (assistant)
1966–1971 Delaware
1971–1973 Chilean National Team
1973–1979 Virtus Bologna
1979–1987 Olimpia Milano
2011Olimpia Milano
Career highlights and awards

Daniel Lowell Peterson (born January 9, 1936) is an American former professional basketball head coach. He resigned from his most recent position as the head coach of Olimpia Milano in the Italian LBA after the team was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2011 Italian league playoffs. The team then announced that he would assume another role with the club. He is nicknamed "The Coach" for his legacy in Italian basketball. Peterson was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2024. [2]

Contents

Biography

Peterson went to Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois. He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in Evanston and a master's degree from the University of Michigan.

He served as assistant coach for NAIA school McKendree College from 1962 to 1963. From 1963 to 1964 he served as freshmen coach at Michigan State. After MSU, for one season, he was plebe coach at the United States Naval Academy. The next year, at the age of 30, he became head coach at the University of Delaware. In five years there, he assembled a record of 69 wins and 49 losses. [3]

In 1971, he went abroad, acting as head coach of the Chile national basketball team until 1973. Peterson took his Chilean team on a grueling tour of the United States in 1972. [4] From 1973–1978, he coached Virtus Bologna in the Italian LBA, winning the 1974 Italian Basketball Cup and, in 1976, the Italian League title. In 1978, he was hired as head coach of Olimpia Milano, where he won four Italian League titles (1982, 1985, 1986, 1987), two more Italian Cups (1986, 1987), a Korać Cup (1985), and one European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) title, which is the highest title in Europe for pro club basketball.

In 1987, he retired after coaching in Italy for 24 years, but he resumed coaching on January 3, 2011, with Olimpia Milano. He still holds records for a coach in the Italian League playoffs, with 11 Final Four appearances in 11 years (after which a playoff format was introduced), 9 finals, 4 titles, 74 games coached, and 51 games won.

On January 3, 2011, he became the new head coach of Olimpia Milano, after the dismissal of Piero Bucchi. He left in June, succeeded by Sergio Scariolo.

Commentator

After his retirement, he became a popular sports commentator (basket and pro wrestling) for major Italian television channels.

Awards

He received the Coach of the Year award for Europe from the WABC and the Coach of the Year for Italy twice. Following his retirement from coaching, he was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.

In 2007, Peterson was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Evanston Township High School. [5]

In 2008, he was named one of the 50 most influential European club basketball personalities over the previous half-century. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtus Bologna</span> Italian professional basketball club

Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olimpia Milano</span> Professional basketball team

Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes referred as "Scarpette Rosse" because team officials imported red Converse All-Star shoes for players from the United States. The tag line stuck, and the nickname is still used by many fans today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dino Meneghin</span> Italian basketball player

Dino Meneghin is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is widely considered to be the best Italian player ever, as well as one of Europe's all-time greats. A 2.06 m tall center, Meneghin was born in Alano di Piave, Veneto. On 20 November 1966, when he was 16 years old, he played in his first game in the Italian League, with Ignis Varese. He played the last game of his career at the age of 45.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandar Đorđević</span> Serbian basketball player and coach

Aleksandar "Saša" Đorđević or Sale Đorđević is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for the senior China. During his playing career, he was listed as a 1.88 m (6'2") 90 kg (198 lb.) point guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cesare Rubini</span> Italian water polo and basketball player

Cesare Rubini was an Italian professional basketball player and coach, and a water polo player. He was considered to be one of the greatest European basketball coaches of all time, Rubini was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994, making him the first, and to this day, just one of three Italian basketball figures to receive such an honour, alongside Dino Meneghin and Sandro Gamba. He was also inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renato Villalta</span> Italian basketball player (born 1955)

Renato Villalta is a former professional basketball player from Italy. He played for Virtus Bologna for 13 seasons, winning three Italian championships and two national cups. Villalta is considered one of the greatest European power forwards of all time and was inducted into the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandro Gamba</span> Italian basketball player and coach

Alessandro "Sandro" Gamba is an Italian former professional basketball player and coach. Gamba was a finalist for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, and was elected as a member in 2006. He was inducted in 2006 to the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lega Basket Serie A</span> Top mens basketball league in Italy

The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier level of the Italian league system. The LBA plays under FIBA rules and currently consists of 16 teams, with the lowest-placed team relegated to the Serie A2 and replaced by the winner of the play-offs of that tier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ettore Messina</span> Italian professional basketball coach (born 1959)

Ettore Messina is an Italian professional basketball coach who is the head coach of Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He has won four EuroLeague championships as a head coach. Messina is regarded as one of the best European basketball coaches of all time, having been named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferdinando Gentile</span> Italian basketball player and coach

Ferdinando Gentile, commonly known as Nando Gentile, is an Italian former professional basketball player and coach. Playing as a point guard, Gentile had a successful pro club playing career, amassing a slew of team trophies won in Italy and Greece, including the EuroLeague title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Scariolo</span> Italian basketball coach

Sergio Scariolo is an Italian professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the senior Spain national team and also the head coach of Real Madrid. Having won four EuroBasket championships and a World Cup at the head of Spain, Scariolo is one of the most successful coaches in the history of international competitions, and according to many players, journalists and commentators, he is regarded as the greatest national team coach of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petar Skansi</span> Croatian basketball player and coach (1943–2022)

Petar Skansi was a Croatian professional basketball player and coach. During his playing career, he played for Jugoplastika and Maxmobili Pesaro. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. He was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that silver medalled at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Hackett</span> Italian-American basketball player

Daniel Lorenzo Hackett is an American-Italian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. Standing at 1.96 m, he can play at both the point guard and shooting guard positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luca Banchi</span> Italian professional basketball coach

Luca Banchi is an Italian professional basketball coach. He is currently the head coach of the Latvia men's national basketball team and the Italian club Virtus Bologna, competing in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He was awarded as the best coach of FIBA World Cup 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquila Basket Trento</span> Basketball team in Trentino, Italy

Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trent, Trentino.

Franco Casalini was an Italian basketball coach. He was mainly known from his successful passage through the legendary team of Olimpia Milano in the late 1980s.

The 2017–18 Lega Basket Serie A, was the 96th season of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), known for sponsorship reasons as the Serie A PosteMobile, which is highest-tier level professional basketball league in Italy. The regular season started on October 1, 2017, and ended on May 9, 2018, with the playoffs started on May 12 and finished on June 15, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giampaolo Ricci</span> Italian basketball player

Giampaolo Ricci is an Italian basketball professional player and the team captain for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He plays at the forward positions. Ricci has also represented the Italian national team in international competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alessandro Pajola</span> Italian basketball player (born 1999)

Alessandro Pajola is an Italian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He is also a member of the senior Italian national team. Standing at 1.94 m, he plays at the point guard position. Pajola is widely known for his defensive ability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amedeo Tessitori</span> Italian basketball player (born 1994)

Amedeo Vittorio Tessitori is an Italian professional basketball player for Reyer Venezia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the Italian National Basketball.

References

  1. ↑ "Grande Coach: Northwestern Magazine - Northwestern University".
  2. ↑ "2024 Hall of Fame Class: Dan Peterson". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  3. ↑ Delaware Men's Basketball Coaching Records
  4. ↑ Sports Illustrated article
  5. ↑ ETHS Distinguished Alumni
  6. ↑ Euroleague Basketball article
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.