BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball Associate Coach Brendan Suhr is one of the nominees for the Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award announced by the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA).
The Award is named after iconic NBA Coach Tex Winter, a long-time assistant (who spent time at LSU with Coach Dale Brown) who has been an integral part of the coaching staff of 10 NBA championships teams, the 2009 recipient of the National Basketball Coaches Association Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2011 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame inductee.
The Award will be presented annually to an Assistant Coach (current or inactive) who has had a storied career as an NBA Assistant Coach and has made a consistent substantial impact while on the bench. The National Basketball Coaches Association Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award honors the career of Hall of Famer Tex Winter who over an outstanding NBA coaching career set a standard of loyalty, integrity, competitive excellence and tireless promotion of NBA basketball.
The recipient of the inaugural 2016 National Basketball Coaches Association Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award will be announced July 12th at Samsung NBA Summer League 2016 in Las Vegas, the ultimate showcase for Assistant Coaches. On the day of the announcement, Summer League will play host to an International Coaches Clinic and NBA Coaches Day, which will celebrate basketball coaching excellence throughout the NBA.
The National Basketball Coaches Association Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award is selected annually by the Award Selection Committee. This Committee is comprised of some of the most respected coaches and basketball executives in the game, including Rick Adelman, Hubie Brown, Doug Collins, Wayne Embry, Danny Ferry, Mike Fratello, George Karl, Doc Rivers, Rod Thorn, and Lenny Wilkens.
Suhr came to LSU prior to the 2015-16 season with two NBA championships earned as an assistant coach in Detroit when the Pistons claimed back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990 under head coach Chuck Daly.
He also served as assistant coach and assistant GM of the Atlanta Hawks, and Assistant Coach for the New Jersey Nets, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks.
Suhr helped create and manage Coach U, a leadership, learning and coaching development group.
“I’m honored to be nominated for the first Tex Winter NBA Assistant Coaches Award. I’ve always tried to serve the players and head coaches who I worked (for),” said Suhr. “I served as VP/Treasurer for nine years of the NBCA helping executive director Michael Goldberg and the three presidents I served with (Jack Ramsey, Lenny Wilkens, Mike Fratello) get higher pensions, disability insurance and a voice in NBA issues such as rules. To be nominated by my peers makes the Tex Winter Award very special. The purpose of Coaching U is to develop coaches at all levels and understand why we coach.”
Nominated for the award besides Coach Suhr are: Ron Adams, Jim Boylan, Hank Egan, Jim Eyen, Tim Grgurich, Frank Hamblen, Dick Helm, Brian Hill, Phil Johnson, Jim Lynam; Bob McAdoo, Ron Rothstein and Bob Weiss.