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P. J. Carlesimo
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Peter J. (P. J.) Carlesimo (born May 30, 1949 in Scranton, Pennsylvania) is the former head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder and a former college basketball coach at Seton Hall University, named "Coach of the Century" for his 12 years of success with the Pirates. He is the son of Peter A. Carlesimo who was the longtime coach and athletic director at the University of Scranton and Fordham University. He was fired by the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 21, 2008.
esimo is a 1971 graduate of Fordham University and began his coaching career as an assistant at the school during the same year.
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Encyclopedia
Peter J. (P. J.) Carlesimo (born May 30, 1949 in Scranton, Pennsylvania) is the former head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder and a former college basketball coach at Seton Hall University, named "Coach of the Century" for his 12 years of success with the Pirates. He is the son of Peter A. Carlesimo who was the longtime coach and athletic director at the University of Scranton and Fordham University. He was fired by the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 21, 2008.
Early coaching stints
Carlesimo is a 1971 graduate of Fordham University and began his coaching career as an assistant at the school during the same year. He received his first head coaching job when he took over New Hampshire College for one year, beginning in 1975. The New Hampshire Penmen ended the 1975–1976 season with a 14-13 record and winning the Mayflower Conference championship. Carlesimo also had a successful coaching stint at Wagner College of Staten Island, New York, a Division I school, leading the team to two NIT berths in six years as coach from 1976 to 1982.
Seton Hall College Coaching Years
Carlesimo coached Seton Hall University from 1982–1994 (212–166) and was named the school's "Coach of the Century." He led the Pirates, a once struggling program, to the 1989 NCAA Championship game before losing to Michigan in overtime. Carlesimo was two-time Big East Conference coach of the year, following both the 1988 season, when he led Seton Hall to its first ever tournament appearance, and his 1989 runner-up year. During Carlesimo's tenure, the Pirates made the NCAA tournament six times.
Carlesimo was an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski with the U.S. national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal. He also served as an assistant coach on the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team," winning the gold medal.
NBA coaching career
Carlesimo moved to the NBA in 1994, taking over the Portland Trail Blazers from Rick Adelman. He led the team to a winning record and the playoffs in his rookie campaign, becoming the first ex-college coach to do so in his opening year in over a quarter of a century. Carlesimo led the Blazers to the playoffs in each of his first years, setting team defensive records in the process. However, he was unable to lead the team out of the playoff's first round.
In 1997, Carlesimo headed to the Golden State Warriors, coaching the team until 1999. He was fired in December of that year, after his team got off to a poor start for the third straight season.
Carlesimo was an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich from 2002 to 2007. He agreed to coach the Seattle SuperSonics on July 5, 2007. The terms of the deal were undisclosed. Carlesimo was fired on November 22, 2008 by the Oklahoma City Thunder after a 1–12 win-loss start.
Latrell Sprewell choking incident
Carlesimo is probably best remembered as the victim of a notorious attack by Latrell Sprewell during a 1997 practice when Carlesimo was head coach of the Golden State Warriors. During this incident, Sprewell choked Carlesimo for nearly 15 seconds until being pulled off by several teammates, and elbowed him several minutes later. Sprewell said that if his teammates did not stop him he would have seriously injured, and possibly killed Carlesimo. Sprewell was suspended for the remainder of that season, and never again played for the Warriors after the incident.
Miscellaneous
A 1999 Sports Illustrated article by Frank Deford, focusing on the aftermath of Carlesimo's life following the Sprewell choking incident, had this to say about Carlesimo's quality of life post-December 1, 1997:
"Carlesimo may be alone, but he is not lonely. The hearty laughs and the tall tales and the fine red wine flow deep into every night: the rich Continental dinners, the camaraderie, Carlesimo surrounded at the table by his myriad friends from a well-traveled life—Warriors assistants, visiting coaches, old high school and college buddies and the odd celebrity pal. The women fade in and out—'Recruits,' says one reject, whimsically."
The article also notes that Carlesimo, at the turn of the century, professed to eat out 365 nights a year.
Coaching record
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| align="left" |POR
| align="left" |1994–95
|82||44||38||.537|| align="center" |4th in Pacific||3||0||3
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
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| align="left" |POR
| align="left" |1995–96
|82||44||38||.537|| align="center" |3rd in Pacific||5||2||3
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
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| align="left" |POR
| align="left" |1996–97
|82||49||33||.598|| align="center" |3rd in Pacific||4||1||3
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
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| align="left" |GSW
| align="left" |1997–98
|82||19||63||.232|| align="center" |6th in Pacific||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
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| align="left" |GSW
| align="left" |1998–99
|50||21||29||.420|| align="center" |6th in Pacific||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |GSW
| align="left" |1999–00
|27||6||21||.222|| align="center" |(fired)||—||—||—
| align="center" |—
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| align="left" |SEA
| align="left" |2007–08
|82||20||62||.244|| align="center" |5th in Northwest||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
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| align="left" |OKC
| align="left" |2008–09
|13||1||12||.077|| align="center" |(fired)||—||—||—
| align="center" |—
|-
| align="left" |Career
| ||500||204||296||.408|| ||12||3||9
External links
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