John Wetzel (basketball)

Last updated

John Wetzel
John Wetzel (head coach)- Phoenix Suns.jpg
Wetzel in 1987
Personal information
Born (1944-10-22) October 22, 1944 (age 79)
Waynesboro, Virginia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school Wilson Memorial
(Fishersville, Virginia)
College Virginia Tech (1963–1966)
NBA draft 1966: 8th round, 75th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career1967–1976
Position Small forward / shooting guard
Number24, 25, 33
Career history
As player:
1967–1968 Los Angeles Lakers
19701972 Phoenix Suns
19721975 Atlanta Hawks
1975–1976 Phoenix Suns
As coach:
1976–1977 Virginia Tech
19791987 Phoenix Suns (assistant)
1987–1988 Phoenix Suns
19881994 Portland Trail Blazers (assistant)
1994–1995 New Jersey Nets (assistant)
19951997 Golden State Warriors (assistant)
19982004 Sacramento Kings (assistant)
Career NBA statistics
Points 1,215 (3.4 ppg)
Rebounds 682 (1.9 rpg)
Assists 494 (1.4 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

John Francis Wetzel (born October 22, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. A 6'5" guard, he attended Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville, VA, and played collegiately at Virginia Tech and was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 8th round of the 1966 NBA draft. [1] Over a seven-year career, Wetzel played for three teams: the Lakers, the Phoenix Suns, and the Atlanta Hawks. [2] He later coached the Suns during the 1987-88 NBA season. [3] He served as an assistant for several other teams, retiring from basketball in 2004. Wetzel currently splits time in Tucson, Arizona and Maui, Hawaii.

Contents

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

NBA

Source [2]

Regular season

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1967–68 L.A. Lakers 3811.4.437.7612.21.33.7
1970–71 Phoenix 7015.6.431.8222.21.64.7
1971–72 Phoenix 518.2.378.8001.31.11.7
1972–73 Atlanta 2818.0.447.8242.11.43.5
1973–74 Atlanta 7017.6.425.7192.42.01.0.33.6
1974–75 Atlanta 6312.5.426.8831.81.2.8.13.8
1975–76 Portland 376.7.478.8331.0.5.2.11.7
Career35713.2.429.8101.91.4.8.23.4

Playoffs

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1973 Atlanta 311.0.429.71.32.0
1976 Phoenix 22.51.0001.0.0.0.01.0
Career57.6.4291.000.8.8.0.01.6

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular seasonGGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–L %Win–loss %
PlayoffsPGPlayoff gamesPWPlayoff winsPLPlayoff lossesPW–L %Playoff win–loss %
TeamYearGWLW–L%FinishPGPWPLPW–L%Result
Phoenix 1987–88 822854.3414th in PacificMissed playoffs

Source [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Mullins (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach

Jeffrey Vincent Mullins is an American retired basketball player and coach. He played college basketball with the Duke Blue Devils and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the St. Louis Hawks and Golden State Warriors. Mullins served as the head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 1985 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Counts</span> American basketball player (born 1941)

Mel Grant Counts is an American former basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1964 to 1976. An excellent outside shooter for a 7 footer, he was on the United States Olympic basketball team that won the gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He played in college for Oregon State University and was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1964 NBA draft. The Celtics won the NBA Championship in 1965 and 1966 with Counts on the team as Bill Russell's backup, but he was traded for the 1967 season to the Baltimore Bullets. Halfway through that season he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, who made it to the playoffs that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack McCloskey</span> American basketball player and coach (1925–2017)

John William McCloskey was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He served as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and general manager of the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. As general manager of the Pistons, McCloskey assembled the team that would become known as the "Bad Boys" that won NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Jent</span> American basketball player and coach

Christopher Matthew Jent is an American basketball coach and former player who recently served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was formerly the head coach of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Van Arsdale</span> American Basketball player and executive

Richard Albert Van Arsdale is an American former professional basketball player and coach, and a current National Basketball Association (NBA) executive.

The 1966 NBA draft was the 20th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 11 and 12, 1966 before the 1966–67 season. In this draft, ten NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip. The New York Knicks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Detroit Pistons were awarded the second pick. This draft was the first to use the coin flip method, which replaced the territorial pick rule. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. An expansion franchise, the Chicago Bulls, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the last pick of each round. The draft consisted of 19 rounds comprising 112 players selected.

The 1965 NBA draft was the 19th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1965, before the 1965–66 season.

The 1964 NBA draft was the 18th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 4, 1964, before the 1964–65 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile (80 km) radius of its home arena as their territorial pick. The draft consisted of 15 rounds comprising 101 players selected.

The 1963 NBA draft was the 17th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30 and May 7, 1963, before the 1963–64 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena as their territorial pick. The Chicago Zephyrs relocated to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Bullets prior to the draft. The Syracuse Nationals participated in the draft, but relocated to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 15 rounds comprising 84 players selected.
This draft holds the record for the fewest non-territorial picks who later debuted in the NBA, with 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monty Williams</span> American basketball coach and former player

Tavares Montgomery Williams is an American professional basketball coach, executive and former player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He recently served as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons of the NBA. Williams played for five NBA teams during a playing career that spanned from 1994 to 2003. His NBA coaching career has included stints as an assistant coach, associate head coach, and head coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Erickson</span> American basketball & volleyball player

Keith Raymond Erickson is an American former basketball and volleyball player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Barnhill (basketball)</span> American basketball player

John Anthony "Rabbit" Barnhill was an American professional basketball player.

The 1970 NBA expansion draft was the fifth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 11, 1970, so that the newly founded Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers could acquire players for the 1970–71 season. Buffalo, Cleveland, and Portland were awarded the expansion teams on February 6, 1970. Houston was also awarded a franchise, but the group backing the team was unable to come up with the US$750,000 down payment on the US$3.7 million entrance fee that was required before the 1970 NBA draft. The Braves later underwent two relocations, moving to San Diego in 1978 and changing their name from the Braves to the Clippers, and then relocating to Los Angeles in 1984. They are currently known as the Los Angeles Clippers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 NBA expansion draft</span> Player selection draft

The 1989 NBA expansion draft was the ninth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 15, 1989, so that the newly founded Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic could acquire players for the upcoming 1989–90 season. Minnesota and Orlando had been awarded the expansion teams on April 22, 1987. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twenty-three other NBA teams had protected eight players from their roster and the Magic and the Timberwolves selected twelve and eleven unprotected players respectively, one from each team. The previous year's expansion teams, the Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat, were not involved in this draft and did not lose any player. Prior to the draft, the league conducted a coin flip between the Timberwolves and the Magic to decide their draft order in this expansion draft and in the 1989 NBA draft. The Magic won the coin flip and chose to have the first selection and the right to select twelve players in this expansion draft, thus allowing the Timberwolves to receive the higher pick in the 1989 Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 NBA expansion draft</span> Player selection draft

The 1968 NBA expansion draft was the fourth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1968, so that the newly founded Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns could acquire players for the upcoming 1968–69 season. Milwaukee and Phoenix had been awarded the expansion teams on January 22, 1968. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twelve other NBA teams had protected seven players from their roster. After each round, where each the Suns and the Bucks had selected one player, the existing teams added another player to their protected list. The draft continued until both teams had selected eighteen unprotected players each, while the existing teams had lost three players each.

The 1966 NBA expansion draft was the second expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held from April 30 to May 1, 1966, so that the newly founded Chicago Bulls could acquire players for the upcoming 1966–67 season. Chicago had been awarded the expansion team on January 16, 1966. The Bulls were the third NBA franchise to play in Chicago, following the Chicago Stags, which folded in 1950, and the Chicago Packers–Zephyrs, which moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Bullets in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975–76 Phoenix Suns season</span> Professional basketball season

The 1975–76 Phoenix Suns season was the eighth season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The season included an improbable run to the NBA Finals by a team that had never won a playoff series and made the playoffs only one other season in the franchise's existence.

The 1988–89 Phoenix Suns season was the 20th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The Suns had the seventh overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, which they used to select Tim Perry out of Temple University, and also selected future All-Star Dan Majerle from the University of Central Michigan with the fourteenth overall pick. During the off-season, the Suns fired head coach John Wetzel and replaced him with director of player personnel Cotton Fitzsimmons, who coached the team for the '70–'71 and '71–'72 seasons, and signed free agent and one-time All-Star forward Tom Chambers. The Suns showed a lot of improvement over the previous season, holding a 29–17 record at the All-Star break, posting a nine-game winning streak between March and April, and finishing second in the Pacific Division with a 55–27 record. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

References

  1. "1966 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "John Wetzel NBA playing stats". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "John Wetzel: Coaching Record, Awards". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2024.