Memorabilia
Jud Heathcote autographed photo
- Item Number
- 208
- Estimated Value
- Priceless
- Sold
- 8 USD to ld777476f
- Number of Bids
- 1 - Bid History
Item Description
George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote (born May 27, 1927) was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at University of Montana (1971–1976) and 19 at Michigan State (1976–1995).
The stint at Montana was the first for Heathcote as head coach of a college varsity program. Previously, he had coached at West Valley High School in Spokane, Washington for 14 seasons, and at Washington State University for seven years, five seasons as freshman coach and two seasons as frosh-varsity coach.
In the 1974-75 season at Montana, he led them to their first Big Sky Conference championship. The Grizzlies advanced to the NCAA Regionals, losing to eventual tournament champion UCLA.
Heathcote was then hired by Joseph Kearney to take on the head basketball coaching job at Michigan State in 1976 and began the most successful phase of his coaching career. In his third season at Michigan State, Heathcote guided the Spartans to the NCAA Championship. The Spartans, led by Magic Johnson, defeated the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores in the title game.
In his 19 years at Michigan State, the Spartans made nine NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournaments and three NIT appearances. As a coach, Heathcote was particularly noted for his excellent defensive strategies on the court and was second to none in blocking the opposing team from penetrating to the hoop. Heathcote retired after the 1994-95 season, having won 418 games and lost 275, for a .603 winning percentage. He was succeeded by Tom Izzo, an associate head coach under Heathcote for Heathcote's final five seasons.
Coaching tree
Several of Heathcote's former assistants and players went onto successful head coaching jobs including:
- Tom Izzo, Michigan State
- Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks
- Stan Joplin, Toledo
- Jim Brandenburg, Wyoming
- Mike Montgomery, Montana, Stanford, California
- Don Monson, Idaho, Oregon
- Brian Gregory, Georgia Tech
- Tom Crean, Indiana
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