Jerry Sloan was remembered by fellow coaches Dan Nelson, Phil Jackson and Lenny Wilkins
Dan Nelson, the most winning coach in NBA history, ended up taking a walk on the beach in his beloved Hawaii on Friday when a reporter informed him that his coaching partner was Jerry Sullivan Omar. She died of complications from Parkinson's disease and Levy's physical dementia. 78.
"Oh, he was a dear friend." "Nelson told ESPN." Even if it was the first time he had met me.
Nelson was a player with the Boston Celtics when the team went to play against Sullivan's Chicago Bulls at the Chicago Stadium on November 8, 1966. Nelson was bombing the defense, trying to catch a stringing Sullivan, when Sullivan suddenly stopped, causing two players to clash violently.
"It made me stand up," Blue remembered with a laugh. He knew I had no choice but to run after him. And then, even though his phone rang, he got up and tried to hit me. ''
Nelson said he and Sullivan carried some wild swings on each other that weren't connected. He was quickly separated by officials and colleagues.
"After that, they didn't throw you out of the game," Neely said. "So we kept playing. And Jerry was fine. He was like that. He was a really tough guy, but he'll have his say and move on." Will
Although Sullivan logged in as an NBA player in 11 offensive seasons from 1965 to 1976, he was best known as the 26-year-old UNBA coach, with the Utah Jazz for those 23 seasons.
In Salt Lake City, he established a no-nonsense, physical brand of basketball that enabled the Jazz to reach the NBA Finals in the back-to-back seasons of 1997 and 1998. Both times, his team - led by Carl Mellon and John Stockton, whose personalities reflected his subordinate coach - was thwarted by Michael Jordan and the Bills.
Although Sullivan never won the championship - and, surprisingly, he was never named NBA Coach of the Year - George Carl said he was one of the most skilled coaches ever to be seen. Are one of
"I never faced Jerry until I made it to the top three or four," said Carl, who sits two places behind Sullivan at No. 6 on the all-time coaching wins list. "It's really hard to play against their teams. They were very tough, very team oriented.
"Jerry didn't tolerate too many NBA Bulls - which continues. He demanded, but respected. The Utah Jazz I've ever talked to has nothing to say about it. Was. "
Sullivan was raised in Gobler Nob, Illinois, the youngest of 10 children. When Sullivan was just 4 years old, his father died. He would get up before sunrise to complete his work on the family farm, then walk more than two miles to school. People who knew him said that he attributed the ethics of ethical work which served him well in raising him with difficulty throughout his NBA career.
"Jerry was a farmer at heart," Phil Jackson said in a text message. "We all enjoyed his fire and his game performance ... on both ends of the coaching spectrum."
Sullivan ran the discipline franchise and would not tolerate excuses or dissent. He expected his players to perform the same as his trademark. In 2006, when asked if he needed to be patient with his youngest player, 19-year-old CJ Miles, Sullivan replied, "I don't care if he's 19 or 30. If he's going to be on the floor in the NBA, he'll be able to move on and walk behind him. We can't put diapers on him one night, and we can strip a jack the next night. That's the way it is. "
Sullivan also showed great loyalty to his players. So, when Cannon Martin leveled Malone in the open, it wasn't Malone who threatened to fight him - it was Sullivan.
Consider the words of former jazz president and coach Frank Leiden, who once linked the essence to author Michael Lewis: "No one fights Jerry because you know the price will be too high. You're his age. The winner can come out. Even lick it. But in the process you will lose one eye, one arm, your testicles. "
Sullivan's wrath was not strictly safe for opponents. If he felt that any of his players had been whistled by a phantom call, he left no room for challenging the referee, who decided with a few election words to pronounce the verdict. ۔ In 2003, he was suspended for seven games by referee Courtney Kirkland.
Joey Crawford, a former NBA official, said he had warned Little Refise that if he decided to slap Sloane with a technical, he would do so immediately. Just turn around and leave to make the situation worse.
"But here's an amazing thing about Jerry." "Crawford said." He was crazy, but you could go back to him and tell him a lot of things, and he would never cheat on you.
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