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Jack McCloskey

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Jack McCloskey
Personal information
Born(1925-09-19)September 19, 1925
Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 1, 2017(2017-06-01) (aged 91)
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
CollegePenn (1943–1944)
Playing career1947–1954
PositionShooting guard
Coaching career1956–1974
Career history
As player:
1947–1948Lancaster Red Roses
1948–1951Pottsville Packers
1951–1954Sunbury Mercuries
1953Philadelphia Warriors
As coach:
1956–1966Penn
1966–1972Wake Forest
1972–1974Portland Trail Blazers
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As executive:

Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

John William McCloskey (September 19, 1925 – June 1, 2017) was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He served as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and general manager of the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. As general manager of the Pistons, McCloskey assembled the team that would become known as the "Bad Boys" that won NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.[1]

Biography

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Early life

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McCloskey was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania on September 19, 1925 to Buelah and Eddie McCloskey. After high school, he attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he played football. He left school to serve in World War II as a lieutenant commanding a landing ship for the Marines. After the war, McCloskey attended the University of Pennsylvania where he played three varsity sports.[1]

Playing career

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McCloskey played one game for the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA during the 1953 season, scoring 6 points in that game.[2] McCloskey also spent time in Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL), including with the Sunbury Mercuries. He was the EPBL Most Valuable Player in 1953 and 1954, and earned four nominations to the All-EPBL First Team (1950, 1952–1954).[3]

Coaching career

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McCloskey served as head coach of the University of Pennsylvania from 1956 to 1966, and of Wake Forest from 1966 to 1972. Following that, he served as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers from 1972 through 1974, earning a 48–116 win–loss record. He followed this stint as an assistant coach to Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers. When West became general manager in 1979, McCloskey felt he had earned the right to become head coach, but Jack McKinney was hired instead.

Front-office career: "Trader Jack"

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In 1979, McCloskey became general manager of the Detroit Pistons. Over the next 13 years, "Trader Jack", as he was known, made over 30 trades, constantly upgrading his team to become a true challenger to the Boston Celtics, one of the dominant teams in the NBA's Eastern Conference. His best-known moves were drafting future Hall-Of-Famer Joe Dumars outside the lottery and rebounding champ Dennis Rodman in the second round of the NBA Draft, trading three players for future all-star center and dominant rebounder Bill Laimbeer and trading superstar Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre during the 1988–89 season, a move that helped the Pistons win the NBA championship in 1989 and 1990.[1]

After the Chicago Bulls swept the Pistons in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, "Trader Jack" made his last moves. He acquired Darrell Walker, Brad Sellers, and Orlando Woolridge, and let go of Vinnie Johnson and James Edwards to try to make the team younger. He drafted Doug Overton in the second round that year (the Pistons had traded their first-round pick away), who did not even play the following season. The Pistons struggled with their chemistry, as key subs like John Salley did not improve their performance, yet they won 48 games. They lost in five games to the New York Knicks in the first round, and McCloskey left the team. He later served in the front offices of the Minnesota Timberwolves (1992–1995), and the Toronto Raptors (2004), the latter on an interim basis.

Personal life

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On March 29, 2008, McCloskey had his name honored in Auburn Hills (Home city of The Detroit Pistons at the time), with a banner raised at The Palace of Auburn Hills.[4]

McCloskey had six children. His daughter is the writer Molly McCloskey, whose memoir Circles Around the Sun: In Search of a Lost Brother (2011) recounts the story of the McCloskey family with particular focus on Molly's brother (Jack McCloskey's son), Mike.[5][6][7] The family was featured in an article in the September 1953 Ladies Home Journal, as part of a long running series "How America Lives", titled "Meet Mrs. $10,000* Executive in the Home".

In May 2017, it was announced McCloskey had Alzheimer's disease.[8] He died on June 1, 2017.[4]

Career playing statistics

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Legend
  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

NBA

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Source[9]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1952–53 Philadelphia 1 16.0 .333 – 3.0 1.0 6.0

Head coaching record

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College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Penn Quakers (Ivy League) (1956–1966)
1956–57 Penn 7–19 3–11 7th
1957–58 Penn 13–12 8–6 4th
1958–59 Penn 12–14 5–9 5th
1959–60 Penn 14–11 8–6 T–3rd
1960–61 Penn 16–9 10–4 2nd
1961–62 Penn 17–8 11–3 2nd
1962–63 Penn 19–6 10–4 3rd
1963–64 Penn 14–10 10–4 3rd
1964–65 Penn 15–10 10–4 3rd
1965–66 Penn 19–6 12–2 1st
Penn: 146–105 87–53
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1966–1972)
1966–67 Wake Forest 9–18 5–9 T–5th
1967–68 Wake Forest 5–21 3–11 T–7th
1968–69 Wake Forest 18–9 8–6 T–3rd
1969–70 Wake Forest 14–13 6–8 5th
1970–71 Wake Forest 16–10 7–7 4th
1971–72 Wake Forest 8–18 3–9 6th
Wake Forest: 70–89 32–50
Total: 216–194

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NBA

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Legend
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
Portland 1972–73 82 21 61 .256 5th in Pacific – – – – Missed Playoffs
Portland 1973–74 82 27 55 .329 5th in Pacific – – – – Missed Playoffs
Career 164 48 116 .293 – – – –

References

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  1. ^ a b c Slotnick, Daniel (June 2, 2017). "Jack McCloskey, Architect of Detroit Pistons' 'Bad Boys' Teams, Dies at 91". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Jack McCloskey, former Pistons general manager, dies at age 91". ESPN. June 2, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "John McCloskey minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Detroit Pistons Mourn Loss of Legendary General Manager Jack McCloskey". Pistons.com. June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "Review: Circles around the sun: In search of a lost brother by Molly McCloskey". Irish Independent. July 9, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Glavin, Anthony (June 25, 2011). "Home is where the heartbreak is". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Enright, Anne (July 1, 2011). "Circles Around the Sun by Molly McCloskey - review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  8. ^ Farrell, Perry A. (May 17, 2017). "Former Pistons GM Jack McCloskey battling Alzheimer's disease". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  9. ^ "Jack McCloskey NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
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