Bernard "Red" Sarachek (October 19, 1912 – November 14, 2005) was a

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 and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and university, universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of c ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

in New York City from 1940 to 1969. He was also a mentor of legendary coaches such as

Red Holzman William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to ...

(

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

Lou Carnesecca Luigi P. Carnesecca (born January 5, 1925) is an American retired college basketball coach at St. John's University. Carnesecca also coached at the professional level, leading the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association for three sea ...

( St. John's), and Jack Donohue (

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast ...

). Yeshiva, under Sarachek, has been called "the birthplace of modern basketball" due to his innovative ball-handling schemes. Sarachek designed and implemented motion offenses, trapping defenses, plays to beat zone defenses and creative in-bound plays. His schemes were admired and copied by coaches around the country. "Red" was known to drive around in a car filled with envelopes with plays scribbled on them which he would give his team captains to figure out and pass to these future legends. His story is featured in ''

The First Basket ''The First Basket'' is a 2008 documentary film on professional basketball's influence on Jewish culture. It is narrated by Peter Riegert. The film includes interviews and narratives provided by, and footage of, well known Jewish basketball person ...

'', the first and most comprehensive documentary on the history of Jews and basketball. In 1948-1949 Saracheck coached two of the top professional teams in what was known as the Eastern League at the same time. Legend has it that the two teams met in the playoffs and caused a new ruling barring the practice. In inducting Saracheck into the

NYC Basketball Hall of Fame The New York City Basketball Hall of Fame is a hall of fame that celebrates over 120 years of basketball in New York by recognizing and honoring the best basketball players, coaches, referees, promoters and contributors in the history of New ...

as part of the inaugural class, the late

David J. Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

, Commissioner of the NBA noted: "We all know "Red" as an innovative coaching mentor and a fiery and principled redhead - what many forget is that Coach Saracheck was the first coach to dare break the unwritten rule when, in 1949, as coach of the Eastern League champion

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pachter ...

, he played "Pop" Gates, "Dolly" King and

Eddie Younger Edward Younger (January 7, 1923 – March 18, 1985) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the New York Rens. Younger attended Benjamin Franklin High School and later Long Island University. Younger would also play for ...

- 3 African American superstars on the court at the same time!"

Honors

Yeshiva University Hall of Fame A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stu ...

(2017) * Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1997) * New York City Basketball Hall of Fame *

New York City Hall of Fame 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 ...

References

"Red Sarachek, 93, Longtime Basketball Coach at Yeshiva," New York Sun, November 18, 2005
* ttp://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=basketball&ID=130 Red Sarachek – Jews in Basketball profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarachek, Red 1912 births 2005 deaths American Basketball League (1925–1955) coaches American men's basketball coaches Basketball players from New York City College athletic directors in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States National Basketball Association scouts NYU Violets men's basketball players People from Deerfield Beach, Florida Sportspeople from the Bronx Stuyvesant High School alumni Yeshiva University faculty Jewish American sportspeople