Bill “Butch” van Breda Kolff Remembered: 1922-2007
Bill “Butch” van Breda Kolff, who was named head coach of the Suns on June 28, 1972, died Wednesday afternoon at a nursing home in Spokane at the age of 84.
Butch van Breda Kolff accumulated a 482-272 coaching record in 28 college seasons, and was 287-316 in 10 seasons as an NBA and ABA coach. He took six teams to the NCAA Tournament and won seven conference titles. His tenure in Phoenix was quite memorable, albeit for its brevity.
After Cotton Fitzsimmons resigned in April, 1972, to accept the head coaching job with the Atlanta Hawks, Suns General Manager Jerry Colangelo knew what he was looking for in a replacement. The next coach would be working with a veteran team that had grown accustomed to winning and had veteran stars such as Charlie Scott, Gus Johnson, Connie Hawkins, Dick Van Arsdale and Neal Walk.
The Suns needed veteran coaching to go along with their veteran talent, and although several names were mentioned as candidates, only one was interviewed. Butch van Breda Kolff was named head coach of the Suns in 1972.
However, after only seven games, 16 days overall into the season, Colangelo removed van Breda Kolff as the head coach. For his part, van Breda Kolff kept the firing in perspective. “First of all,” VBK said, “I’ve got to check on the lease at my residence.”
During his time in the NBA, he coached the Pistons, Suns and took the Lakers to The Finals twice, while also coaching the Memphis Tams and New Orleans Jazz of the ABA. His son, Jan, also played professionally and coached at Cornell, Vanderbilt, Pepperdine and St. Bonaventure.
source : NBA.com
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