Daniel Lowell Peterson (born January 9, 1936) is a former American
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...
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 ...
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...
. He resigned from his most recent position as the head coach of
Olimpia Milano
Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...
in the Italian
LBA LBA or lba may refer to:
Science
* Live blood analysis, the observation of live blood cells through a dark field microscope
* Long branch attraction, an error in molecular phylogeny
* Ligand binding assay, an assay whose procedure relies on the b ...
after the team was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2011 Italian league playoffs. The team then announced that he would assume another role with the club. He is nicknamed "The Coach" for his legacy in Italian basketball.
Biography
Peterson went to
Evanston Township High School
Evanston Township High School (ETHS) District 202, is a four-year public high school occupying a campus in Evanston, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston ...
in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, Downtown Chicago, ...
. He received his undergraduate degree from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Chart ...
in Evanston and a master's degree from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
.
He served as assistant coach for NAIA school McKendree College from 1962 to 1963. From 1963 to 1964 he served as freshmen coach at
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...
. After MSU, for one season, he was plebe coach at the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...
. The next year, at the age of 30, he became head coach at the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...
. In five years there, he assembled a record of 69 wins and 49 losses.
In 1971, he went abroad, acting as head coach of the
Chile national basketball team
The Chile national basketball team is controlled by the Federación de Básquetbol de Chile. It is affiliated to FIBA, under the zone confederation of FIBA Americas.
In the 1950s, Chile had one of the finest national basketball teams in the worl ...
until 1973. Peterson took his Chilean team on a grueling tour of the United States in 1972. From 1973–1978, he coached
Virtus Bologna
Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna.
The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...
in the Italian
LBA LBA or lba may refer to:
Science
* Live blood analysis, the observation of live blood cells through a dark field microscope
* Long branch attraction, an error in molecular phylogeny
* Ligand binding assay, an assay whose procedure relies on the b ...
, winning the 1974
"Coppa Italia" and, in 1976, the
Italian League title. In 1978, he was hired as head coach of
Olimpia Milano
Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...
, where he won four Italian League titles (1982, 1985, 1986, 1987), two more Italian Cups (1986, 1987), a
Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include:
* Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people
* Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager
* Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player
* Vitomir ...
(1985), and one
European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) title, which is the highest title in Europe for pro
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea''
Brands and enterprise ...
basketball.
In 1987, he retired after coaching in Italy for 24 years, but he resumed coaching on January 3, 2011, with
Olimpia Milano
Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...
. He still holds records for a coach in the Italian League playoffs, with 11 Final Four appearances in 11 years (after which a
playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
format was introduced), 9 finals, 4 titles, 74 games coached, and 51 games won.
On January 3, 2011, he became the new head coach of
Olimpia Milano
Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...
, after the dismissal of
Piero Bucchi. He left in June, succeeded by
Sergio Scariolo
Sergio Scariolo (born 1 April 1961) is an Italian professional basketball coach who is head coach of Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the head coach of the senior Spain national team. Having won four EuroBasket champ ...
.
Commentator
After his retirement, he became a popular
sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio wa ...
(basket and
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
) for many Italian television channels.
Awards
He received the Coach of the Year award for Europe from the WABC and the Coach of the Year for Italy twice. Following his retirement from coaching, he was inducted into the Illinois Basketball
Hall of Fame in 1995.
In 2007, Peterson was named a Distinguished Alumnus of
Evanston Township High School
Evanston Township High School (ETHS) District 202, is a four-year public high school occupying a campus in Evanston, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston ...
.
In 2008, he was named one of the
50 most influential European club basketball personalities over the previous half-century.
A poll said that he is the foreigner with the sexiest voice in Italy.
Dan Peterson spinge la nuova Carife
See also
* List of EuroLeague-winning head coaches
The list of EuroLeague-winning head coaches shows all of the head coaches that have won the EuroLeague championship. The EuroLeague is the European-wide top-tier level professional basketball club competition. The competition was originally cal ...
References
External links
Italian League Coach Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Dan
1936 births
Living people
American emigrants to Italy
American expatriate basketball people in Chile
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from Illinois
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens men's basketball coaches
EuroLeague-winning coaches
Evanston Township High School alumni
McKendree Bearcats men's basketball coaches
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball coaches
Navy Midshipmen men's basketball coaches
Northwestern University alumni
Olimpia Milano coaches
Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois
University of Michigan alumni
Virtus Bologna coaches
American expatriates in Italy