Quinn Buckner
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Phoenix, Illinois, U.S. | August 20, 1954||||||||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
High school | Thornridge (Dolton, Illinois) | ||||||||||||||||||||
College | Indiana (1972–1976) | ||||||||||||||||||||
NBA draft | 1976: 1st round, 7th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career | 1976–1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Point guard | ||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 21, 28, 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
As player: | |||||||||||||||||||||
1976–1982 | Milwaukee Bucks | ||||||||||||||||||||
1982–1985 | Boston Celtics | ||||||||||||||||||||
1985–1986 | Indiana Pacers | ||||||||||||||||||||
As coach: | |||||||||||||||||||||
1993–1994 | Dallas Mavericks | ||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
Points | 5,929 (8.2 ppg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Assists | 3,114 (4.3 apg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Steals | 1,337 (1.9 spg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||||||||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||||||||
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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William Quinn Buckner (born August 20, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiate basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers, and won a national championship in 1976. He was a captain of both the last undefeated NCAA Division I basketball champion and the 1976 Olympics gold medal team.[1][2] Buckner was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 7th pick of the 1976 NBA draft. He had a ten-year NBA career for three teams (the Bucks, the Boston Celtics, and the Indiana Pacers). In 1984, he won an NBA title with the Celtics.
Buckner is one of only eight players in history to win an
In addition to his playing career, Buckner was the head coach of the
Early life
Born in 1954 in Phoenix, Illinois, Buckner played basketball at Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois. His Falcons lost only one game during his junior and senior seasons and won back-to-back state titles. The 1972 team was undefeated, with no team coming within 14 points of it, and is often cited as the greatest team in the history of Illinois high school basketball.[4] Buckner was also an excellent football player, making all-state in high school. He is the only person ever named Chicago area Player of the Year for both football and basketball.[5]
In 2006, Buckner was voted as one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament, a group of former players and coaches in honor of the 100 anniversary of the IHSA boys basketball tournament.
College career
Buckner elected to play college basketball for the
In Buckner's freshman season, 1972–73, Indiana reached the Final Four, losing to
The following season,
NBA career
In Buckner's 10-year NBA career he was a tough defender, a solid playmaker, and a stabilizing force in any lineup. At various stages he filled the role of team leader and trusty reserve.
Although he scored only 10.0 points per game during his college career, Buckner was selected by the
Before he joined the Bucks, Buckner played on the gold medal-winning 1976 U.S. Olympic basketball team alongside Adrian Dantley, Mitch Kupchak, and Scott May. But nothing could have prepared him for the NBA experience. Buckner's teams had suffered only 25 defeats in his eight years of high school and college basketball, and he had never been on a team that lost more than seven games in a season. But Milwaukee lost 52 times in 1976–77, finishing last in the Midwest Division.
Individually, Buckner proved to be a competent NBA player. He was unspectacular offensively, averaging 8.6 points while shooting .434 from the field, but he excelled on defense, ranking fourth in the league with 2.43 steals per game.
The next year Buckner raised his scoring slightly, to 9.3 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. That postseason, Buckner set a playoffs career-high with 19 points alongside recording 10 assists in a Game 7 loss against the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals (the Bucks were in the Western Conference at the time).[9] After a similar season in 1978–79, Buckner had his three best years. In 1979–80 he averaged 10.7 points and 5.7 assists, made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the second time, and helped the Bucks to the Midwest Division title. Under Coach Don Nelson, Milwaukee had assembled a solid lineup that included forward Marques Johnson, center Bob Lanier, and guards Brian Winters, Sidney Moncrief, and Junior Bridgeman.
The 1980–81 campaign saw Buckner play in all 82 games and notch career highs in scoring (13.3 ppg), field-goal percentage (.493), free-throw percentage (.734), and steals (197, third in the league). He repeated on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. The Bucks were outstanding, finishing 60–22 with a balanced offense that saw seven players average in double figures. Milwaukee had high hopes for the postseason, but Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers derailed the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Buckner had established a reputation as a solid, dependable player with good fundamentals. He was never going to be a flashy player or a big scorer; his low-trajectory shot was jokingly said to have been responsible for more bent rims than Darryl Dawkins's dunks.[citation needed]
"My strength is defense," he said in the
Milwaukee was trying to add a few essential parts that would turn the team into a championship contender, and the bottleneck at guard made Buckner expendable.
Before the 1982–83 season he was traded to the Boston Celtics for center Dave Cowens. When Boston signed Buckner, Red Auerbach told the Boston Globe, "He's a winner, a leader. He rises to the occasion. He has a good personality, he's team oriented, and he's disciplined." Buckner added, "I’ve always admired the Boston style of play, and I feel I can play it."
Milwaukee never did win the title. Boston, however, won a championship in 1984, with Buckner coming off the bench to spell Dennis Johnson and Gerald Henderson. The Celtics went 62–20 during the regular season and then nudged the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game NBA Finals. With the NBA championship ring, Buckner completed an impressive résumé.
In three seasons with Boston, Buckner made small but regular contributions for a powerful Celtics team. The club returned to the Finals in 1985, but the Lakers exacted their revenge, winning in six games.
Following the season, Boston traded Buckner to the Indiana Pacers for guard Jerry Sichting. He opened the 1985–86 season with the Pacers but was waived after 32 games, and subsequently retired, ending his 10-year career.[10]
NBA career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976–77 | Milwaukee
|
79 | – | 26.5 | .434 | – | .539 | 3.3 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 8.6 |
1977–78 | Milwaukee
|
82 | – | 25.3 | .468 | – | .645 | 3.0 | 5.6 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 9.3 |
1978–79 | Milwaukee
|
81 | – | 21.7 | .454 | – | .632 | 2.6 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 7.2 |
1979–80 | Milwaukee
|
67 | – | 25.2 | .467 | .400 | .734 | 3.6 | 5.7 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 10.7 |
1980–81 | Milwaukee
|
82 | – | 29.1 | .493 | .167 | .734 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 13.3 |
1981–82 | Milwaukee
|
70 | 70 | 30.8 | .482 | .267 | .655 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 12.9 |
1982–83 | Boston
|
72 | 56 | 21.7 | .442 | .000 | .632 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 7.9 |
1983–84 | Boston
|
79 | 0 | 15.8 | .427 | .000 | .649 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 4.1 |
1984–85 | Boston
|
75 | 6 | 11.4 | .383 | .000 | .640 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
1985–86 | Indiana
|
32 | 3 | 13.1 | .471 | .000 | .704 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 3.7 |
Career | 719 | 135 | 22.6 | .461 | .184 | .657 | 2.7 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 8.2 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977–78 | Milwaukee
|
9 | – | 28.6 | .500 | – | .652 | 3.0 | 6.9 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 11.2 |
1979–80 | Milwaukee
|
7 | – | 23.6 | .340 | .000 | .636 | 2.3 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 6.1 |
1980–81 | Milwaukee
|
7 | – | 26.1 | .433 | .000 | .688 | 2.9 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 9.0 |
1982–83 | Boston
|
7 | – | 14.0 | .432 | .000 | .000 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 4.6 |
1983–84 | Boston
|
23 | – | 11.7 | .405 | .000 | .545 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
1984–85 | Boston
|
15 | 0 | 5.7 | .591 | .000 | .625 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.1 |
Career | 68 | 0 | 15.5 | .439 | .000 | .610 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 5.1 |
Broadcasting career
He later on became a broadcaster for ESPN and NBC. He also called college and NBA basketball for CBS Sports and called games for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the early 1990s with Kevin Harlan, as well as games for the Cleveland Cavaliers.[11]
Buckner now calls Indianapolis his home and is the color commentator for
Coaching career
He was named head coach of the
Believing that his young charges needed more discipline, Buckner determined from the start to be a stern taskmaster in Knight's mold. Knight had advised Buckner that he would only be able to win in the NBA if he ran his team with an iron hand.
Buckner also angered Carter and other executives by not consulting them on hiring assistant coaches; they only learned about those hires when they called and asked how much they would get for moving expenses. Although Buckner had a five-year contract, Carter decided that "too many bridges had been burned" and fired him after the season.[13]
In July 2004, Buckner was named the Vice President of Communications for Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E), which owns and operates the Indiana Pacers, the WNBA's Indiana Fever and the Pacers Foundation, Inc. Buckner was appointed to serve a 3-year term on the Indiana University Board of Trustees by then-Indiana governor Mike Pence in June 2016.[14]
Head coaching record
Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas | 1993–94 | 82 | 13 | 69 | .159 | 6th in Midwest | – | – | – | – | Missed Playoffs |
Career | 82 | 13 | 69 | .159 | – | – | – | – |
Personal life
Buckner has four children with his wife Rhonda; Jason, Cory, Lauren and Alexsandra.
He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
See also
- List of National Basketball Association single-game steals leaders
References
- ^ "Quinn Buckner". Fox Sports. July 19, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ "The 7 undefeated college basketball national champions in the NCAA tournament era | NCAA.com". NCAA. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ Basketball's Triple Crown, Thepostgame.com
- ^ "Illinois H.S.toric | News & Media". Illinois High School Association. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ISBN 9781582619453.
- ^ "1974 USA Basketball". Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Dorr, Dave (April 10, 1976). "A perfect season". Sporting News. Archived from the original on February 29, 2000. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ "Hoosier Historia". The Herald Times. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ "Milwaukee Bucks at Denver Nuggets Box Score, May 3, 1978". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Quinn Buckner Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Schoettle, Anthony. "Buckner relishes role as executive: IU great recalls lessons from Knight, Bird". Indiana Business Journal. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Quinn Buckner". NBA. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ a b Sam Smith (May 4, 1994). "Mavericks show Buckner door". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "Former IU star Quinn Buckner named to board of trustees". The Indianapolis Star.
External links
- Indiana Pacers: Quinn Buckner, Cable TV Color Analyst
- BasketballReference.com: Quinn Buckner (as coach)
- BasketballReference.com: Quinn Buckner (as player)