Tim Grgurich (born June 10, 1942) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach. Grgurich served as the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, for 5 seasons in the mid to late 1970s. He also served as the head coach at

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the ...

for the first seven games of the 1994–95 season before abruptly resigning. He arrived at UNLV in the mid–1980s, importing the

amoeba defense The amoeba defense is a defensive strategy in the game of basketball. History The amoeba defense was developed by Fran Webster, an assistant for the Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team. In the 1970s, Webster perfected the defense with Pit ...

developed when he was a Pitt assistant under Bob Timmons and

Charles Ridl Charles G. "Buzz" Ridl (June 27, 1920 – April 28, 1995) was an American college head coach of men's basketball born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Irwin, Pennsylvania. He was the long-time coach at Westminster College in Pennsylvania, unti ...

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Reb ...

's teams.

Early life

A native of the Lawrenceville neighborhood of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Grgurich attended Central Catholic High School. As a player at Pitt he led the team to two consecutive post season tournaments in 1963 and 1964. He then served 12 years (1964–1975) as an assistant coach and head of recruiting under Timmons and Ridl. Grgurich helped to develop Pitt's famous amoeba defense that along with the superlative play of All-American forward Billy Knight launched a 22-game win streak for Pitt in the 1973–1974 season under head coach 'Buzz' Ridl. This play carried Pitt to the Elite 8 that year, its furthest advance in the NCAA tournament since its Final Four appearance in 1941. The '74 season ended with a loss to eventual NCAA champion North Carolina State with David Thompson and Tom Burleson, in a game played on NC State's home court in Raleigh.

Coaching career

After Ridl retired several seasons later, Grgurich was named head coach at Pitt for the 1975–1976 season. After two rebuilding seasons he coached Pitt to 3 consecutive winning seasons in his 5 total seasons there, and a post season bid in 1980. Grgurich finished with a record of 69–70, as his mostly undermanned teams were noted for playing with high energy, enthusiasm, and interesting defensive schemes. Grgurich continued those defensive stratagems while serving as the top assistant coach at UNLV, culminating with winning the NCAA championship in 1990 over top-ranked Duke. UNLV was also ranked #1 for all of 1991 and reached the Final Four again that year. Grgurich has served as an assistant coach for several NBA teams including extended stays with the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

under fellow Pittsburgher George Karl. During his time in Seattle, the Sonics reached the NBA finals in 1996. Seattle's teams were noted for their defensive prowess implemented by Grgurich. Grgurich also was an assistant with the

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 ...

and 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 ...

, again under George Karl. Grgurich has been sought after for his trusted knowledge of the game and his vast defensive coaching abilities and the enthusiasm he brings to the game. For the 2010–11 season he was hired as an assistant coach/consultant by fellow Pittsburgher and owner of the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to '' Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 lis ...

. Since then, Grgurich has had similar consulting roles with 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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, and

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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

Head coaching record

References

;Bibliography * ;Footnotes

External links

Tim Grgurich profile at NBA.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grgurich, Tim 1942 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball coaches Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches Seattle SuperSonics assistant coaches Sportspeople from Pittsburgh UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball coaches Basketball players from Pittsburgh