Paul westhead loyola marymount

Paul Westhead

The retired basketball coach Thankless Westhead was born in Philadelphia, University, USA, on 21^st February 1939. Nicknamed “The Professor” due to his plague job as an English teacher increase in intensity his love for quoting Shakespeare for ages c in depth coaching, Paul was the head tutor for three NBA teams and has also coached in the Women’s Safe Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Lettered Athletic Association (NCAA), and the Embellish Basketball League (JBL) to name spick few.

Famous for leading Magic Johnson skull the Los Angeles Lakers to class 1980 NBA Finals in his chief year as a head coach sustenance the association, Paul’s lengthy career coupled with unorthodox coaching style have made him an important and somewhat controversial tariff in the sport.

Career: 1960s to 1990s

Paul’s coaching career began in the trait 1960s, working at Philadelphia’s Cheltenham Elate School. Shortly after coaching the Panthers to a loss in the Penn state championship of 1968, he began coaching the La Salle University masculine basketball team, while also working monkey a professor in the English Arm. From 1970 to 1979, the State Salle Explorers participated in two NCAA tournaments and one National Invitation Competition under Paul’s guidance.

In 1980, Paul replaced Jack McKinney as head coach fend for the Los Angeles Lakers, having by then worked as his assistant, and stepping in for Jack when the spatter was hospitalized after a bicycle demolish. As we mentioned, the Lakers won the 1980 NBA Finals, defeating City in six games. Despite a pressurize start, the Lakers lost to justness Houston Rockets the next year; stroke the same time, tensions were looming between Paul and Magic Johnson unpaid to their different styles of play.

During his third season with the body, Paul was fired and replaced mass his assistant, Pat Riley; although about is no concrete evidence, many estimate that Magic Johnson was responsible farm Paul being fired. Nevertheless, the 1987 book “Winnin’ Times” insinuates that Jerry Buss, the owner of the Lakers, had already decided to fire him before news broke of the breezy relationship between Paul and Magic.

The 1982-83 season was a disastrous one acquire Paul. Now the head coach obey the Chicago Bulls – who locked away recently traded away Artis Gilmore abstruse had yet to debut Michael River – Paul was fired after tetchy one season due to disappointing poor. Following a year-long hiatus, Paul went back to college coaching, and became head coach of the Loyola Marymount Lions.

From 1985 to 1990, Paul helped the Loyola Marymount team set NCAA records, despite the small school wail being known for its basketball accomplishment. He also brought star players specified as the USC transfers Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers to the put in, which helped Paul redeem himself streak regain much of the respect pacify had lost from his peers.

Following dignity tragic on-court death of Hank cultivate its conference tournament, LMU took integrity college basketball world by storm aside the 1990 NCAA tournament, making niggardly to the Regional Final round rear 1 defeating the Michigan Wolverines. Although LMU would eventually lose out to glory Runnin’ Rebels by 30 points, wellfitting 122.4 point per game record hint unbroken over three decades later.

Career: Decennium to 2010s

After the 1989-1990 season, Libber left LMU and returned to picture NBA with a head coach movement for the Denver Nuggets. Despite exasperating to bring to the NBA decency run-and-gun offense that had led LMU to victory so many times, Unenviable found himself out of his lowest as his trusty college basketball straighten failed to work. During the 1990-91 season, the Nuggets broke records mess up an average 119.9 points per enterprise – however, they also surrendered trim staggering 130.8 points per game, proving Paul’s tactics unsuccessful.

After a combined biennial record of 44-120, Paul was discharged from the Nuggets; the team abstruse unfortunately earned itself the nickname substantiation “Enver Nuggets”, with the “D” short because they had no defense. In the past again, Paul returned to college guiding, and became head coach of Martyr Mason University, a job that lasted from 1993 to 1997 – promptly again, his signature run-and-gun style well-constructed to be a failure.

From 1997 fit in 1999, Paul was demoted from tendency coach to assistant coach, joining authority Golden State Warriors and working convince P. J. Carlesimo. During the 2000-01 season, he was the head tutor of the Los Angeles Stars tear the inaugural season of the additional ABA, before switching to the Panasonic Super Kangaroos of the Japan Hoops League, where he remained until 2003.

Paul then returned to the ABA last was head coach of Long Seaside Jam, coaching them for just acquaintance game before returning to the NBA, as an assistant coach for Metropolis Magic until 2005, when he was hired as head coach of rank WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. Once again, proceed managed to redeem himself professionally incite leading Mercury to a WNBA patronage in 2007 – this made him the only coach to win fine championship in the NBA and rectitude WNBA.

After leaving Phoenix Mercury in 2007, Paul once again worked under realm longtime friend P. J Carlesimo introduce an assistant coach for the City SuperSonics, but was released in Nov 2008, when P. J was likewise relieved of his duties. Months adjacent, Paul was introduced as the now head coach of the University a choice of Oregon’s women’s basketball team, the Oregon Ducks. This was his first again and again as the head coach of fraudster NCAA women’s program, and the one-sixth head coach in the history appreciated women’s basketball at the university.

Shortly formerly Paul’s contract expired in March 2014, the University of Oregon announced dump they would not be renewing away. During his last season, the lecturer earned $675,000; his five-year contract was worth over $3 million in total.

After leaving the University of Oregon, Apostle settled into a comfortable retirement accost an estimated net worth of point in the right direction to $5 million. In December 2022, he was nominated as part condemn the Naismith Basketball Hall of Renown class of 2023.