John Shumate

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John Shumate
John Shumate.png
Shumate with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1973
Personal information
Born (1952-04-06) April 6, 1952 (age 72)
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school Thomas Jefferson
(Elizabeth, New Jersey)
College Notre Dame (1971–1974)
NBA draft 1974: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career1975–1980
Position Power forward / center
Number34
Coaching career1983–2010
Career history
As player:
1975–1976 Phoenix Suns
1976–1977 Buffalo Braves
1977–1979 Detroit Pistons
1979–1980 Houston Rockets
1980 San Antonio Spurs
1981 Seattle SuperSonics
As coach:
1983–1986 Grand Canyon
1988–1995 SMU
1995–1998 Toronto Raptors (assistant)
2003 Phoenix Mercury
2009–2010 Phoenix Suns (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As head coach:

  • SWC regular season champion (1993)
Career NBA statistics
Points 3,920 (12.3 ppg)
Rebounds 2,388 (7.5 rpg)
Assists 574 (1.8 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

John Henry Shumate (born April 6, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. His career was cut short by recurring issues with blood clots.

Contents

Early life

Shumate, the son of a minister, was born on April 6, 1952, in Greenville, South Carolina. [1] Shumate grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and played high school basketball at Thomas Jefferson High School. He was a high school All-American in his senior year. He starred in the Sonny Hill League in Philadelphia. [2] [1] [3]

Shumate received a scholarship to attend Notre Dame University, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in sociology. Shumate had an excellent year for the Fighting Irish men’s basketball team in his freshman season, but missed his sophomore season due to problems with blood clots in his leg and a viral infection near his heart. He spent nine days in intensive care, losing 45 pounds. The clotting problem would plague him into his future basketball career. [1] [3]

He returned to play as a junior, averaging 21 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, and 24.2 points and 11 rebounds per game as a senior, under coach Digger Phelps. [4] [5] After a 6–20 record the previous year, the team had an 18–12 record his junior year, and went to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). He was twice the Fighting Irish team captain, a two-time All-American, including a consensus All-American as a senior selected to both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) All-America teams. [6] [4] [3]

Shumate was the center on the Notre Dame team that ended the University of California at Los Angeles' (UCLA) NCAA-record 88-game winning streak on January 19, 1974, UCLA's first loss in 1,092 days. Shumate starred on offense and defense, and led all players in rebounding that day. [7] The Fighting Irish ended the year with at 26–3 record, ranked 5th in the nation, and went to the NCAA tournament. [8] [3]

On March 5, 2005, Shumate was named to Notre Dame's All-Century Team. [5] In 2022, Shumate was inducted into Notre Dame's Ring of Honor. [3] He ranks first in Notre Dame history with a .610 field goal percentage. [3]

Professional basketball

The Phoenix Suns drafted Shumate in the first round of the 1974 NBA draft, fourth overall. [9] A 6 ft 9 in forward/center, Shumate played five seasons (1975–1978; 1979–1981) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Phoenix Suns, Buffalo Braves, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Seattle SuperSonics. He did not play in the 1974-75 seaon, after a blood clot was found in his lung, and did not play in the 1978-1979 season after the blood clotting recurred during the off-season. [1] [10]

He earned NBA All-Rookie Team honors in his first season [6] after averaging 11.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game, and virtually tying Wes Unseld for the league lead in field goal percentage at .561. [11] [10] He was traded in February 1976, during this rookie year, to the Buffalo Braves for five-year veteran Gar Heard and a second round draft pick, as part of the Suns' pursuit of an NBA title that year. [1] [10] [12] [13] The Suns did make it to the NBA finals, but lost to the Boston Celtics 4–2. [14] Shumate was fifth in rookie of the year voting, with the Suns' center Alvan Adams winning the award. [15]

In the 1976-77 season for the Buffalo Braves, Shumate had his best year, averaging 15.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Early the next season, Buffalo traded Shumate, Gus Gerard and a 1979 first round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons for Marvin Barnes, a 1978 second round pick and fourth round pick. He averaged 15.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in 62 games for the Pistons. [10] Barnes had been a first team All-American selection in 1974 with Shumate (along with Bill Walton, David Thompson, and Jamaal Wilkes). [16]

Shumate lost the following season (1978-79) to blood clots, and was never a full-time player again. He returned to play for the 1979-80 season, but was waived by the San Antonio Spurs in December 1980 of his final season, and did not play in the NBA again. Over the course of his career, Shumate averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds. [10]

Shumate also appeared as a member of the Detroit team in the cult classic basketball film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh in 1979 alongside Pistons teammates Bob Lanier, Eric Money, Chris Ford, Kevin Porter, and Leon Douglas. [17] [18]

Coaching career

Shumate was a volunteer assistant coach to Notre Dame's Digger Phelps for 2½ years after retiring from the NBA, before becoming head coach at Grand Canyon College (now Grand Canyon University). He coached Grand Canyon from 1983-1986, with a 58–33 record. In the 1984-85 season, the team made it to the finals of the NAIA District VIII Playoffs. [6]

Shumate later coached for the Southern Methodist University Mustangs for seven seasons (1988-95). His best season was 1992-93, when the Mustangs went 20–8, won the Southwest Conference title, and went to the NCAA tournament (losing in the first round). [19] [20] He was an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors for three seasons (1995-98), and head coach of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury in 2003. [21] He was an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns in 2009-10, [22] [23] having previously served as a college scout for the Suns. [21] He continued as a Suns' scout after his assistant coaching ended. [24]

He also appeared in a series of basketball training videos. [25]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Grand Canyon Antelopes [26] (NAIA District VII)(1983–1986)
1983–84Grand Canyon 21–9
1984–85Grand Canyon 18–16
1985–86Grand Canyon 18–9
Grand Canyon:57–34
SMU Mustangs (Southwest Conference)(1988–1995)
1988–89 SMU 13–167–97th
1989–90 SMU 10–185–11T–7th
1990–91 SMU 12–176–106th
1991–92 SMU 10–184–107th
1992–93 SMU 20–812–21st NCAA Division I First Round
1993–94 SMU 6–213–11T–7th
1994–95 SMU 7–203–11T–7th
SMU:78–11840–64
Total:135–152

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

WNBA

Legend
Regular seasonGGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–L %Win–loss %
PlayoffsPGPlayoff gamesPWPlayoff winsPLPlayoff lossesPW–L %Playoff win–loss %
TeamYearGWLW–L%FinishPGPWPLPW–L%Result
Phoenix 2003 34826.2357th in Western––––
Career34826.235–––

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "John Shumate BK". www.njsportsheroes.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  2. ↑ Viggiano, Bob. "Wilson hoops great Sullinger, 58, dies" [ permanent dead link ], Courier-Post , December 10, 2010. Accessed October 24, 2015. "The team's toughest test came in the state semifinals, when it went up against Thomas Jefferson of Elizabeth with John Shumate, who later starred at Notre Dame."
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Noie, Tom (December 10, 2022). "It wasn't just about points or rebounds for John Shumate, who was driven to dominate". Notre Dame Insider. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "John Shumate College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Shumate Named to Notre Dame's All-Century Squad". www.nba.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "John Shumate - Men's Basketball Coach". Grand Canyon University Athletics. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Remembering when Notre Dame men's basketball ended UCLA's record 88-game winning streak in 1974 | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  8. ↑ "1973-74 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  9. ↑ "1974 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "John Sumate Stats". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  11. ↑ "1975-76 NBA Leaders". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Gar Heard Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  13. ↑ Petersen, Matt (May 27, 2015). "Suns Throwback: The Gar Heard Trade". www.nba.com. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  14. ↑ "1976 NBA Finals - Suns vs. Celtics". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  15. ↑ "1975-76 NBA & ABA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Men's Consensus All-America Teams (1969-70 to 1978-79)". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  17. ↑ "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh". March 4, 1981 – via IMDb.
  18. ↑ Allen. "THE NBA STARS WHO APPEARED AS THEMSELVES". The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  19. ↑ "John Shumate Coaching Record". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  20. ↑ "1992-93 SMU Mustangs Men's Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  21. 1 2 "John Shumate Rejoins Suns Staff". www.nba.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  22. ↑ "John Shumate: Coaching Record, Awards". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Shumate named assistant coach of Phoenix Suns". Sports.gaeatimes.com. August 25, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Suns Scouts Talk Draft Preparation". www.nba.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  25. ↑ http://www.howtosports.com/basketball.php Archived 2007-06-21 at the Wayback Machine .
  26. ↑ "Year-by-Year (PDF) - Grand Canyon University Athletics" (PDF). www.gculopes.com. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
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