Stu Jackson
Encyclopedia
Stuart Wayne Jackson (born December 11, 1955 in Reading
, Pennsylvania) is an American former head coach and current executive in the National Basketball Association
. He has coached two different NBA teams: the New York Knicks
in 1990 and 1991, and the Vancouver Grizzlies
in 1997; he also has served as the Grizzlies' general manager. He is noted for his famous quote when he was confronted about being the one who brought the Vancouver Grizzlies franchise down, "IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"
Jackson worked as an associate coach and head recruiting coordinator under Rick Pitino
at Providence College
from 1985–87. He also worked as an assistant coach at Washington State
from 1983 to 1985 and at the University of Oregon
from 1981 through 1983.
He was head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers
in the 1992–1993 and 1993–1994 seasons.
As of June 2007, he is the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the NBA, a league official whose duties include penalizing players for on-court misconduct.
Jackson was the center of controversy for his handling of suspensions related to several incidents in the fourth game of the Phoenix Suns
/San Antonio Spurs
series in the 2007 NBA Playoffs
. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/sports/basketball/16suns.html http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0516suspend0516.html
In the closing seconds of Game 4, with the Suns leading 100–97, the Spurs' Robert Horry
committed a flagrant foul
on Suns point guard Steve Nash
, sending Nash into the scorer's table. Several Suns players moved away from their bench toward Nash and Horry after the foul. Jackson suspended Horry for two games for the hard foul on Nash and for delivering the forearm to Bell. Two Suns players were also suspended – starting center Amar'e Stoudemire and swingman Boris Diaw
– for leaving the immediate bench area in violation of a league rule. Jackson said that "It's not a matter of fairness. It's a matter of correctness."
Jackson was also involved in controversial decisions to suspend Mavericks sixth man Jerry Stackhouse
for the pivotal Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals
against the Heat and to suspend Wizards reserve Darius Songaila
for a pivotal Game 6 of a playoff series in 2008 against the Cavaliers.
In another isolated incident, Jackson was also involved in yet another controversial decision to not suspend or penalize Rajon Rondo
's face-racking foul on Brad Miller
with two seconds to go in Game 5 of a 2009 playoff series between the Celtics and the Bulls even though a flagrant was warranted. The foul left Miller with a mouth full of blood that required stitches, possibly costing the Bulls the game. The ruling was lenient, contradicting Jackson's previous statement claiming correctness is emphasized over fairness. Later, Jackson was quoted, saying, "We felt Rondo was making a basketball play and going for the ball after a blown defensive assignment by the Celtics team. In terms of criteria we use to evaluate a flagrant foul penalty 1, generally we like to consider whether or not there was a wind-up, an appropriate level of impact, and a follow through. And on this foul, we did not see a wind-up, nor did he follow through, so for that reason we're not going to upgrade this foul to a flagrant foul penalty 1. The initial play, in our mind, was on the ball—an effort to try and make an attempt on the ball and take a foul that would prohibit a game-tying basket," despite replays that clearly show that Rondo was nowhere near the basketball and the fact that the mentioned criteria of a "wind up" and a "follow through" does not appear anywhere in the rule book.
In the following Bulls-Celtics game, Rondo was seen flinging Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich
to the scorers table, getting pushed by Hinrich, and retaliating with a missed elbow, in which Stu Jackson was again in the middle of controversy by "sweeping it under the rug" and not suspending Rondo for either act or making any news of it.
Jackson did not suspend Celtics' center, Kendrick Perkins, after his elbow struck the Orlando Magic's Mickael Pietrus in the throat, during the 2nd round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Jackson had previously (1 week prior) used this rule to suspend Magic center, Dwight Howard, after a similar incident during their first round matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Source: Stu Jackson Coaching Record – Basketball-Reference.com
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
, Pennsylvania) is an American former head coach and current executive in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. He has coached two different NBA teams: the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in 1990 and 1991, and the Vancouver Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
in 1997; he also has served as the Grizzlies' general manager. He is noted for his famous quote when he was confronted about being the one who brought the Vancouver Grizzlies franchise down, "IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"
Jackson worked as an associate coach and head recruiting coordinator under Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino is an American basketball coach. Since 2001, he has been the head coach at the University of Louisville. He has also served as head coach at Boston University, Providence College and the University of Kentucky, leading that program to the NCAA championship in 1996...
at Providence College
Providence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
from 1985–87. He also worked as an assistant coach at Washington State
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
from 1983 to 1985 and at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
from 1981 through 1983.
He was head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...
in the 1992–1993 and 1993–1994 seasons.
As of June 2007, he is the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the NBA, a league official whose duties include penalizing players for on-court misconduct.
Jackson was the center of controversy for his handling of suspensions related to several incidents in the fourth game of the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
/San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
series in the 2007 NBA Playoffs
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/sports/basketball/16suns.html http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0516suspend0516.html
In the closing seconds of Game 4, with the Suns leading 100–97, the Spurs' Robert Horry
Robert Horry
Robert Keith Horry Jr. is a retired American basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association , winning seven championships, the most of any player not to have played on the 1960s Boston Celtics...
committed a flagrant foul
Flagrant foul
A flagrant foul is a serious contact foul involving unnecessary, excessive, or intentional contact in sport. There is a specific National Basketball Association foul termed a flagrant foul.-NBA flagrant fouls:...
on Suns point guard Steve Nash
Steve Nash
Stephen John "Steve" Nash, OC, OBC is a South African-born Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association . Nash enjoyed a successful high-school basketball career, and he was eventually given a scholarship by Santa Clara...
, sending Nash into the scorer's table. Several Suns players moved away from their bench toward Nash and Horry after the foul. Jackson suspended Horry for two games for the hard foul on Nash and for delivering the forearm to Bell. Two Suns players were also suspended – starting center Amar'e Stoudemire and swingman Boris Diaw
Boris Diaw
Boris Babacar Diaw-Riffiod, better known as Boris Diaw , is a French professional basketball player for JSA Bordeaux in France. He has also played in the National Basketball Association for the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, and Charlotte Bobcats...
– for leaving the immediate bench area in violation of a league rule. Jackson said that "It's not a matter of fairness. It's a matter of correctness."
Jackson was also involved in controversial decisions to suspend Mavericks sixth man Jerry Stackhouse
Jerry Stackhouse
Jerry Darnell Stackhouse is an American professional basketball player who plays both shooting guard and small forward. He most recently played for the Miami Heat. He is now an NBA TV analyst but remains as an eligible free agent....
for the pivotal Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals
2006 NBA Finals
The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 National Basketball Association season. The Miami Heat won the championship in six games over the Dallas Mavericks, winning the final game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and becoming the third team to win a championship...
against the Heat and to suspend Wizards reserve Darius Songaila
Darius Songaila
Darius Songaila is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He is also a member of the Lithuania national team. He can play power forward and center positions. He currently plays for Galatasaray Medical Park in Turkey....
for a pivotal Game 6 of a playoff series in 2008 against the Cavaliers.
In another isolated incident, Jackson was also involved in yet another controversial decision to not suspend or penalize Rajon Rondo
Rajon Rondo
Rajon Pierre Rondo is an American professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association . Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Rondo attended Eastern High School and Oak Hill Academy for his high-school basketball career, before receiving a...
's face-racking foul on Brad Miller
Brad Miller (basketball)
Bradley Alan Miller is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA...
with two seconds to go in Game 5 of a 2009 playoff series between the Celtics and the Bulls even though a flagrant was warranted. The foul left Miller with a mouth full of blood that required stitches, possibly costing the Bulls the game. The ruling was lenient, contradicting Jackson's previous statement claiming correctness is emphasized over fairness. Later, Jackson was quoted, saying, "We felt Rondo was making a basketball play and going for the ball after a blown defensive assignment by the Celtics team. In terms of criteria we use to evaluate a flagrant foul penalty 1, generally we like to consider whether or not there was a wind-up, an appropriate level of impact, and a follow through. And on this foul, we did not see a wind-up, nor did he follow through, so for that reason we're not going to upgrade this foul to a flagrant foul penalty 1. The initial play, in our mind, was on the ball—an effort to try and make an attempt on the ball and take a foul that would prohibit a game-tying basket," despite replays that clearly show that Rondo was nowhere near the basketball and the fact that the mentioned criteria of a "wind up" and a "follow through" does not appear anywhere in the rule book.
In the following Bulls-Celtics game, Rondo was seen flinging Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich
Kirk Hinrich
Kirk James Hinrich is an American professional basketball player, currently a guard for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. He has also been a member of the USA National Team....
to the scorers table, getting pushed by Hinrich, and retaliating with a missed elbow, in which Stu Jackson was again in the middle of controversy by "sweeping it under the rug" and not suspending Rondo for either act or making any news of it.
Jackson did not suspend Celtics' center, Kendrick Perkins, after his elbow struck the Orlando Magic's Mickael Pietrus in the throat, during the 2nd round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Jackson had previously (1 week prior) used this rule to suspend Magic center, Dwight Howard, after a similar incident during their first round matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Coaching record
| Team | |Regular Season | NYK New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association... |
1989–90 | 45 | 37 | .549 | 3rd in Atlantic Division Atlantic Division (NBA) The Atlantic Division is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . The division consists of five teams, the Boston Celtics, the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors... |
4 | 6 | .400 | Conf. semifinals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYK | 1990–91 | 7 | 8 | .467 | 3rd in Atlantic Division | ||||||
| VAN Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a professional basketball team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Toronto Raptors, as part of the NBA's... |
1996–97 | 6 | 33 | .154 | 7th in Midwest Division Midwest Division (NBA) The Midwest Division was a division in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association . The division was created at the start of the 1970–71 season, when the league expanded from 14 to 17 teams with the addition of the Buffalo Braves, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail... |
||||||
| 3 seasons | 58 | 78 | .426 | ||||||||
| 4 | 6 | .400 | |||||||||
Source: Stu Jackson Coaching Record – Basketball-Reference.com
External links
- Article by Chris Sheridan of ESPN regarding the Rondo/Miller incident at ESPN.com
- Stu Jackson profile at NBA.com
- BasketballReference.com: Stu Jackson
- A New York Times article on the recent controversy.
- A fairly detailed Arizona Republic article on the event.
- Washington Post article about the decision.
- Kerr's embarrassment over Jackson's handling over the situation.