Tex Winter

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Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter (born February 25, 1922) is a successful American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense.

Tex Winter attended Huntington Park High School and went on to graduate from the University of Southern California in 1947, where he learned the triangle offense from Sam Barry. Winter immediately entered the coaching profession as an assistant to Hall of Famer Jack Gardner at Kansas State University. He would stay in coaching for the next 57 consecutive years.

In 1952, Winter began a two-year stint as head coach at Marquette University, becoming the youngest coach in major college basketball. In 1954 Winter returned to Kansas State as head coach of new point-guard, Juan "Pachin" Vicens (named "Best Basketball Player in the World" at 1959 Mundobasket in Santiago de Chile). Winter served as Kansas State's head coach for the following 15 years, posting a 262-117 (.691) record, winning eight Big Eight Conference titles, and advancing to two Final Fours. Winter was named the national Coach of the Year in 1958. In 1962, Winter also literally published the book on the triangle offense – the offense which he utilized with such success at Kansas State – entitled The Triple-Post Offense. Following his departure from K-State, Winter served shorter stints as head coach at the University of Washington, Northwestern University, and Long Beach State. In total, Winter won 454 games at the collegiate level.

Winter also served as head coach of the Houston Rockets for two seasons, 1972–1974, posting a 51-78 record.

In 1985, Winter started another chapter of his life, serving as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls, and teaching the triangle offense to Michael Jordan. He was hired to the position by General Manager Jerry Krause, an old friend he had met while at Kansas State. As an assistant to Phil Jackson, who took over as the Bulls' head coach in 1989, Winter was an integral part of the Bulls' NBA championships in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998. Winter followed Phil Jackson to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he collected three additional championship rings, in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Winter is a member of several halls of fame, and he was awarded the John Bunn Award for lifetime achievement from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. However, although Winter has been on the final ballot for the Basketball Hall of Fame six times, he has not yet been accorded this honor.

[edit] Bibliography

• The Triple-Post Offense, (1962)

[edit] References

• Bender, Mark (2000). Trial by Basketball: The Life and Times of Tex Winter. ISBN 1-886110-90-5

[edit] Trivia

The Lakers, who run the triangle offense under Phil Jackson, play their homes games at Staples Center - less than 2 miles away from the University of Southern Califonia, Winter's alma mater.

Preceded by Bill Chandler	Marquette Men's Head Basketball Coach 1951–1953	Succeeded by Jack Nagle
Preceded by Jack Gardner	Kansas State Men's Head Basketball Coach 1954–1968	Succeeded by Cotton Fitzsimmons
Preceded by Mac Duckworth	Washington Men's Head Basketball Coach 1969–1971	Succeeded by Marv Harshman
Preceded by Alex Hannum	Houston Rockets Head Coach 1971–1973	Succeeded by Johnny Egan
Preceded by Brad Snyder	Northwestern Men's Head Basketball Coach 1973–1978	Succeeded by Rich Falk
Preceded by Dwight Jones	Long Beach State Men's Head Basketball Coach 1978–1983	Succeeded by Dave Buss