Charles Stanley Albeck (May 17, 1931 – March 25, 2021) was an American professional

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 (appro ...

coach. Albeck coached for several teams in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA) and

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), including the

Denver Rockets Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

, the San Diego Conquistadors (often subbing for an absent

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

), the

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

, the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, and the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

Early life

Albeck was born in Chenoa, Illinois, on May 17, 1931, to parents Chad and Ruby Albeck. He attended Chenoa High School in his hometown. Albeck played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Bradley Braves The Bradley Braves are the intercollegiate athletics teams of Bradley University, located in Peoria, Illinois, United States. The Braves' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the Division I (NCAA), ...

from 1950 to 1952 and during the 1954–55 season after a two-year stint in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He obtained a bachelor's degree at Bradley University in 1955 and his master's at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

in 1957.''Who's Who in the World'' 1987–1988 edition. p. 14

Coaching career

Albeck began his coaching at Adrian College in

Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County, Michigan, Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 5th congressional district. The c ...

. His next head coaching job was at

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designa ...

. Albeck was head coach at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

from 1968 to 1970. He was the head coach of the

during most of the 1970–1971 season. The Rockets had begun the season under head coach Joe Belmont, but Belmont was fired after the team lost 10 of its first 13 games. Albeck replaced Belmont as the Rockets' head coach.Remember the ABA: Denver Rockets
/ref> The Rockets went 27–44 under Albeck to finish the season with a record of 30 wins and 54 losses. They tied the Texas Chaparrals for fourth place in the Western Division (28 games behind the

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

) and on April 1, 1971, lost a one-game playoff to the Chaparrals, 115–109, to determine who would advance into the ABA Western Division semifinals. During the season Denver's average home attendance dropped to 4,139 fans per game from 6,281 the year before. One week after the playoff loss, on April 8, 1971, Albeck was replaced by

Alex Hannum Alexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was an American professional basketball player and coach. As a player, Hannum played for six different teams, most notably with the Milwaukee (later St. Louis) Hawks, where he played ...

as Denver's head coach. Hannum resigned as coach of the San Diego Rockets to become the Rockets' head coach, general manager and president. Albeck then became player personnel director for the Rockets. During the 1972–1973 season Albeck was an assistant coach for the San Diego Conquistadors under head coach K.C. Jones. Albeck also served as director of player personnel for the Conquistadors. During most of the 1973–74 season, he served under 'Qs' head coach Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain missed a few games, during which Albeck filled in as the Conquistadors' head coach, winning all of them. Albeck was an assistant coach for the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colo ...

during the 1974–75 season in which the team won the 1975 ABA Championship. He returned as an assistant coach with the Colonels during their final season in 1975–1976. Albeck served as assistant coach of 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

from 1976 until 1979. He went on to become head coach of the

from 1979 to 1980. He was the

' head coach for three seasons from 1980 to 1983. During his tenure, he won NBA Coach of the Month in March 1983. He elected to leave the Spurs after the 1982–83 season ended, a move that attracted a few weeks of legal wrangling when the Spurs found a way to obtain a restraining order because they claimed Albeck had two years left on an "oral contract". Eventually, Albeck was allowed to coach the Nets after the Spurs received $300,000, the 22nd selection in the second round of the 1983 NBA draft and the rights to Fred Roberts (the 27th selection in the 1982 draft). Albeck coached the next two seasons and was perceived to have brought stability to a team that had not won a playoff series since joining the NBA. They beat the defending NBA champion

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

in the First Round that went the full five games but lost to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in six games. As it turned out, it would be the only time the Nets won a postseason series for nearly two decades. The Nets reached the postseason in Albeck's second and ultimately last season but lost in a sweep to the Pistons. In the summer of 1985, Albeck was lured to coach the

with a lucrative contract that reportedly would pay him $900,000 over three years while the Bulls also would agree to pay New Jersey to buyout the last year of Albeck's contract with New Jersey and the remaining money that the Nets still owed the Spurs. Albeck became the eighth fulltime coach of the Bulls since 1978. He and general manager Jerry Krause immediately butted heads over issues including his refusal to put

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...

on his coaching staff, not benching Quintin Dailey for conduct issues, and most of all, not following the minutes restrictions set once

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

returned from injury. His exit from Chicago raised eyebrows around the NBA as his replacement, Doug Collins, had been hired by general manager Jerry Krause just 2 months beforehand as a scout. The hire of Collins was kept a secret from Albeck, who was "stunned" by the move and felt that there was "a lack of respect, dignity and sensitivity". At the time of his dismissal, he had the fourth-best record among active NBA coaches. His all-time coaching percentages was .535 in his 7 years as a head coach in the NBA. Albeck went on to serve as head coach for Bradley University, his alma mater, from 1986 through 1991. During his tenure, the team finished the 1988 regular season in first place. They were also champions of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament that same year. Albeck was a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

Fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

, as well as a Significant Sig and a member of their Significant Sig Hall of Fame. After serving as an assistant coach for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, Albeck was an assistant coach for the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

. He suffered a debilitating

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in December 2001, approximately half an hour before a home game against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. This left him partially paralyzed and forced him to retire. He remained in rehabilitation until his death. He often attended games at AT&T Center with his son.

Personal life

Albeck married Phyllis L. Mann in 1952. Together, they had five children. They remained married until her death in 2017. Shortly after being placed in hospice care, Albeck died March 25, 2021, in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, at the age of 89. He had suffered a stroke two weeks prior to his death.

Head coaching record

NBA

, - , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, align="left" , , 82, , 37, , 45, , .451, , align="center" , 4th in Central, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" ,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, align="left" , , 82, , 52, , 30, , .634, , align="center" , 1st in Midwest, , 7, , 3, , 4, , .429 , align="center" , Lost in Conf. semifinals , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 48, , 34, , .585, , align="center" , 1st in Midwest, , 9, , 4, , 5, , 444 , align="center" , Lost in Conf. Finals , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 53, , 29, , .646, , align="center" , 1st in Midwest, , 11, , 6, , 5, , .545 , align="center" , Lost in Conf. Finals , - , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, align="left" , , 82, , 45, , 37, , .549, , align="center" , 4th in Atlantic, , 11, , 5, , 6, , .455 , align="center" , Lost in Conf. semifinals , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 42, , 40, , .512, , align="center" , 3rd in Atlantic, , 3, , 0, , 3, , .000 , align="center" , Lost in

first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, - , align="left" ,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, align="left" , , 82, , 30, , 52, , .366, , align="center" , 4th in Central, , 3, , 0, , 3, , .000 , align="center" , Lost in

, -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , , , 574, , 307, , 267, , .535, , , , 44, , 18, , 26, , .409 Source:

College

References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Stan Albeck

– college basketball player statistics at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albeck, Stan 1931 births 2021 deaths Adrian Bulldogs men's basketball coaches American Basketball Association executives American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Bradley Braves men's basketball coaches Bradley Braves men's basketball players Chicago Bulls head coaches Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Denver Pioneers men's basketball coaches Denver Rockets head coaches Guards (basketball) Kentucky Colonels coaches Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches Michigan State University alumni New Jersey Nets assistant coaches New Jersey Nets head coaches Northern Michigan Wildcats men's basketball coaches People from Chenoa, Illinois San Antonio Spurs head coaches San Diego Conquistadors coaches San Diego Conquistadors executives Toronto Raptors assistant coaches 20th-century American sportsmen