John Dewitt Kuester Jr.
''Basketball-Reference.com'' (; born February 6, 1955) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and scout. As a player he spent three seasons in the

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(NBA) from 1977 to 1980 and then coached in the college ranks before moving on to the NBA sidelines as an assistant. Kuester was named head coach of 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 July 2009 and coached the team for two seasons. A 6'2" (1.88 m) and 180 lb (82 kg)

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, Kuester played collegiately with the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC S ...

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from 1973 to 1977.Nets Name John Kuester Assistant Coach
July 23, 2004 @ ''nba.com'' ; retrieved August 14, 2007

Playing career

High school

Kuester played four years at Benedictine for legendary coach Warren Rutledge. Leading his team to three consecutive state Catholic League titles, the Cadets were 31-3 his senior year.

College

Kuester played four seasons with the UNC Tar Heels under head coach

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel H ...

, for whom he won two ACC championships and helped reach the NCAA tournament four times, including an appearance in the 1977 NCAA Finals, in which they lost to Marquette 67–59. In both his junior and senior year (1976 and 1977), Kuester was voted UNC's best defensive player. Also in his senior year, as was voted

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

of the ACC Tournament and the NCAA East Regionals.

Professional

Kuester was selected with the 9th pick of the third round (53rd overall) in the

1977 NBA draft The 1977 NBA draft was the 31st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1977, before the 1977–78 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

by the

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. He played 78 games for them in 1977–78, averaging 4.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. In his second and third (and final) seasons he played with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

and

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

, respectively.

Coaching career

After his playing days, Kuester began a basketball coaching career, volunteering as an assistant at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

from 1980 to 1981. From 1981 to 1983, he was an assistant to

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

before succeeding him in 1983 as the youngest head coach in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

., ''nba.com'' ; retrieved August 14, 2007 From 1985 to 1990, Kuester was the head coach at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

. His 1988–1989 Colonials team compiled a 1–27 record, one of the worst ever in NCAA history. He continued his career on the sidelines in the NBA, joining the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in 1990 and serving as an assistant from 1995 to 1997, and from 1997 to 2003 as an assistant for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

under head coach Larry Brown. In 2003–04, Kuester followed Brown to the

where he also served as an assistant. In 2004–05, Kuester was an assistant with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, and returned to the 76ers once more in 2005–06. In July 2006, he was named as an assistant coach for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. In August 2007, Kuester was named to

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

head coach Mike Brown's staff, replacing the departing Kenny Natt. In July 2009, Kuester was hired as head coach of the

, replacing Michael Curry. An agreement was made after the Pistons and their first choice,

Avery Johnson Avery DeWitt Johnson (born March 25, 1965) is an American basketball television commentator and former player and coach who most recently served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He is currently an NBA and college ...

, broke off contract talks. On June 5, 2011, Kuester was fired from his position as head coach of the Detroit Pistons. On June 29, 2011, he was hired as an assistant coach for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

under new head coach Mike Brown. Since his days in Cleveland, this marked the second time Kuester has worked as an assistant coach under Brown. On September 7, 2012, Kuester was named an advance scout for the Lakers.

Family

Kuester and wife, Tricia, have a son, John III, and a daughter, Katelyn. Katelyn ("Katie") played basketball at St. Joseph's University.SJU player profile

Head coaching record

College

NBA

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References

External links

NBA.com John Kuester coach file

@ basketball-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuester, John 1955 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Virginia Basketball players from Richmond, Virginia Boston Celtics assistant coaches Boston University Terriers men's basketball coaches Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Denver Nuggets players Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Detroit Pistons head coaches George Washington Colonials men's basketball coaches Indiana Pacers players Kansas City Kings draft picks Kansas City Kings players Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches New Jersey Nets assistant coaches North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Orlando Magic assistant coaches Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches Point guards Sportspeople from Richmond, Virginia