Richard Alvin Harter (October 14, 1930 – March 12, 2012) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach who served as both a head and

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...

in both the NBA and

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Early life

Born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Harter attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, where he played basketball for the

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and graduated in 1953. He served two years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, and then was an assistant freshman coach back at Penn for a year. He then coached at Germantown Academy for three years, then back to Penn in 1959 as an assistant coach.

College head coach

Harter left Penn in 1965 to become head coach at

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...

, then returned to Penn as its head coach. After success at Penn, with just one regular season defeat in his final two seasons, Harter was hired in April 1971 at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in Eugene. He succeeded Steve Belko, who stepped down after fifteen years and consecutive 17–9 seasons to become assistant athletic director. Harter was regarded as one of the top defensive coaches in the 1970s, where his " Kamikaze Kids" at Oregon in the Pac-8 were known for a swarming defense. Many basketball notables came from Harter's Duck program, including Stu Jackson and former Oregon head coach Ernie Kent. After seven seasons in Eugene, Harter left Oregon in 1978, at a salary of $38,000 annually, for Penn State and $41,000, where he stayed for five seasons.

NBA coach

Harter's first job in the NBA was as an assistant coach with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

in the 1982–83 season. He left in 1986 to become an assistant for the Indiana Pacers. In 1988, he was hired into his first head coaching position, with the expansion Charlotte Hornets; he was the franchise's first ever head coach.Harter joins O'Brien's staff - NBA - ESPN
/ref> In the team's second season Harter was fired in

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during mid-season when the Hornets' record was 8–32. Harter went on to be an assistant coach for the New York Knicks under

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

(1991-1994),

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

under P. J. Carlesimo (1994-1997), Indiana Pacers under

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

(1997-2000), and Boston Celtics under Jim O'Brien. Harter joined the Philadelphia 76ers' coaching staff on May 5, 2004. On June 13, 2007, Harter joined the Indiana Pacers for the third time, as an assistant coach under O'Brien.

Death

Harter died on March 12, 2012, at the age of 81. The cause of death was cancer, said Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky, a co-captain on the 1971 team. Harter died at a hospital at

Hilton Head, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of Charleston. The island is n ...

, where he had a residence.

Head coaching record

College

NBA

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References

External links

Dick Harter
at Basketball-Reference.com

– Dick Harter * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harter, Dick 1930 births 2012 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Boston Celtics assistant coaches Charlotte Hornets head coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Detroit Pistons assistant coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Indiana Pacers assistant coaches New York Knicks assistant coaches Oregon Ducks men's basketball coaches Penn Quakers men's basketball coaches Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coaches People from Pottstown, Pennsylvania Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches Rider Broncs men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania The Hill School alumni