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Hall of Famer Dave Cowens enters his second season as head coach of the Warriors in 2001-02 after becoming the 19th head coach in the franchise's history last season and 15th since the club moved to the West Coast in 1962. The 51-year-old Cowens was named head coach on April 18, 2000, following a brief three-month stint as an assistant coach with Golden State during the 1999-2000 season.
During the 2000-01 season, Cowens was one of the few constants for the Warriors, who were hit with a record-breaking number of injuries for the second consecutive year. Cowens' injury-depleted lineup refused to give in however, recording nine wins against 2000 NBA Playoff teams, including a 125-122 overtime victory over the 2000 and 2001 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.
Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996 and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990, Cowens has carved a niche in the coaching profession as well, having amassed an overall 153-176 (.465) mark as an NBA head coach. The 2000-01 season marked Cowens' fifth overall as an NBA head coach, which included a highly-successful stint in Charlotte, where he guided the Hornets to back-to-back 50-plus win seasons in 1996-97 (54-28) and 1997-98 (51-31). Charlotte's 54-28 record during the 1996-97 campaign - highlighted by a nine-game winning streak in April - marked the best single-season mark in club history. As a result, Cowens finished second in NBA Coach of the Year balloting that year (behind Miami's Pat Riley) and captured NBA Coach of the Month honors in April. During the 1997-98 season, the Hornets eclipsed the 50-win plateau for the second straight season and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history (defeated Atlanta in the First Round; lost to Chicago in the Eastern Conference Semifinals).
Propelled by back-to-back 50-win seasons, Cowens reached the 100-win plateau in only 154 games with the Hornets, winning almost 65% of his outings during this stretch (100-54, .649). He resigned as head coach of the Hornets 15 games into the 1998-99 season (4-11 record on March 8, 1999), having compiled an overall 109-70 record with Charlotte and the highest winning percentage (.609) for a coach in club history. Following his resignation in Charlotte, Cowens remained out of the coaching ranks until 2000, when he joined the Warriors and Garry St. Jean's staff as an assistant coach at midseason (January 31).
Prior to being named head coach of the Hornets on May 29, 1996, Cowens spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs (1994-95 and 1995-96), helping David Robinson and company register 59 and 62 victories, respectively. His coaching background began, however, during the 1978-79 season when he spent the majority of the campaign as a player/coach with Boston. He led the Celtics to a 27-41 record over the final 68 games (he averaged 16.6 points and 9.6 rebounds as a player/coach that season, one year prior to Larry Bird's arrival in Boston). He replaced Tom "Satch" Sanders as coach of the Celtics that season before Bill Fitch assumed leadership of the club the following year (1979-80). Cowens spent a brief stint as a head coach in the CBA during the 1984-85 season, leading Bay State to a 20-28 record.
Originally selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1970 NBA Draft (fourth overall), Cowens enjoyed a prolific 11-year NBA playing career, including 10 seasons with the Celtics. The 6-9 center, who earned a reputation as a blue-collar player who outworked his opponents with hustle and desire, became the 14th player in Celtics franchise history to have his jersey (#18) retired on February 8, 1981. He earned NBA Co-Rookie of the Year honors in 1970-71 (along with Portland's Geoff Petrie) and the league's Most Valuable Player award in 1972-73, when he averaged career-high figures in both scoring (20.5) and rebounding (16.2). Cowens averaged a double-double (points/rebounds) in each of his first eight NBA seasons, including his rookie campaign in 1970-71 (17.0 points and 15.0 rebounds). He was a member of two NBA Championship teams with the Celtics (1974, 1976), earned All-NBA Second Team honors three times (1973, 1975, 1976), NBA All-Defensive First Team honors once (1976), NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors twice (1975, 1980) and ranked among the league's top 10 leaders in rebounding seven times.
Furthermore, he was a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team on six occasions, highlighted by the 1973 classic in Chicago, when he earned MVP honors (15 points, 13 rebounds). Cowens is currently one of 11 players in NBA history to have won the regular-season MVP and All-Star Game MVP in the same season (1973). He collected 20 rebounds in his first-ever All-Star Game appearance in 1972.
After briefly retiring from the NBA following the 1979-80 season, Cowens officially concluded his 11-year career in Milwaukee during the 1982-83 campaign, when he appeared in 40 games with the Bucks and assistant coach Garry St. Jean (now the Warriors' general manager). Overall, he appeared in 766 regular-season games, averaging 17.6 points and 13.6 rebounds. Additionally, he averaged 18.9 points and 14.4 rebounds in 89 career playoff outings and shares the NBA record for most defensive rebounds in a postseason game (20 on two occasions). He averaged 21.0 points and 16.4 rebounds in 18 games during the 1976 playoffs, leading the Celtics to the NBA title. During the Celtics' quest for the NBA championship that spring, Cowens played a significant role in one of the greatest games in NBA Finals history, scoring 26 points during the Celtics' thrilling 128-126 triple-overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 on June 4, 1976.
Born on October 25, 1948 in Newport, Kentucky, Cowens attended Florida State University (1966-1970), where he averaged 19.0 points and 17.2 rebounds in 78 career games with the Seminoles. He earned his bachelor of science degree in criminology while at FSU and guided the Seminoles to a 23-3 record during his senior season, when he earned All-American accolades. Surprisingly, he earned a basketball scholarship to Florida State despite not playing the sport until his junior year at Newport (Ky.) Central Catholic High School. An avid outdoorsman who enjoys reading and playing shuffleboard, Dave and his wife, Deby, live in Alamo and are the parents of two daughters, Meghan and Samantha. |
