Sunday, 24 November 2024

Pete Newell

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
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Sport(s): Basketball
Statistics: 1 NCAA Division I Tournament Win (1959)
2 NCAA Division I Final Fours (1959 & 1960)
1 NIT (1949)
3 PCC Regular Season Championships (1957, 1958 & 1959)
1 AAWU Regular Season Championship (1960)
1 UPI Coach of the Year Award (1960)
1 Olympic Gold Medal (1960)
233-123 NCAA Record
Member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
Member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame
Member of the FIBA Hall of Fame
Pete Newell first became a head coach at the University of San Francisco, where he took the Dons to the NIT Championship in 1949. Newell would later coach Michigan State (1950-54), where after mixed results, he went to the West Coast and signed on as California's head coach.

Newell was with the Golden Bears for six years, and it was easily his best coaching period. After a losing record in year one, California went to the NCAA Regional Finals two years in a row and won it all in 1959. Newell and California were the runner-ups the year after, and he resigned after a year, with the school's basketball program elevated several floors from what he inherited.

Newell, who was also the American head coach in their 1960 Olympic win, could easily be nominated as a contributor. His instructional camps for centers became a must for the big men of the game, and he was especially gifted at teaching footwork to the men who worked the paint. His list of students included Kermit Washington, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Bill Walton.

We are proud to nominate Pete Newell for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

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