John Kuester

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John Dewitt Kuester Jr.[1] (Script error: No such module "IPAc-en".; born February 6, 1955) is an American basketball coach and scout. As a player he spent three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977 to 1980 and then coached in the college ranks before moving on to the NBA sidelines as an assistant. Kuester was named head coach of the Detroit Pistons in July 2009 and coached the team for two seasons.

A Script error: No such module "convert". and Script error: No such module "convert". guard, Kuester played collegiately with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels from 1973 to 1977.[2][3]

Playing career

High school

Kuester played four years at Benedictine for legendary coach Warren Rutledge. Leading his team to three consecutive state Catholic League titles, the Cadets were 31–3 his senior year.

College

Kuester played four seasons with the UNC Tar Heels under head coach Dean Smith, for whom he won two ACC championships and helped reach the NCAA tournament four times, including an appearance in the 1977 NCAA Finals,[3] in which they lost to Marquette 67–59.[4] In both his junior and senior year (1976 and 1977), Kuester was voted UNC's best defensive player. Also in his senior year, he was voted Most Valuable Player of the ACC Tournament and the NCAA East Regionals.[3]

Professional

Kuester was selected with the 9th pick of the third round (53rd overall) in the 1977 NBA draft by the Kansas City Kings. He played 78 games for them in 1977–78, averaging 4.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.[1] In his second and third (and final) seasons he played with the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers, respectively.

Coaching career

After his playing days, Kuester began a basketball coaching career, volunteering as an assistant at the University of Richmond from 1980 to 1981.[3] From 1981 to 1983, he was an assistant to Rick Pitino at Boston University before succeeding him in 1983 as the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I.[2][3][5]

From 1985 to 1990, Kuester was the head coach at George Washington University. His 1988–1989 Colonials team compiled a 1–27 record, one of the worst ever in NCAA history.[3]

He continued his career on the sidelines in the NBA, joining the Boston Celtics in 1990 and serving as an assistant from 1995 to 1997,[3] and from 1997 to 2003 as an assistant for the Philadelphia 76ers under head coach Larry Brown. In 2003–04, Kuester followed Brown to the Detroit Pistons where he also served as an assistant. In 2004–05, Kuester was an assistant with the New Jersey Nets,[2] and returned to the 76ers once more in 2005–06. In July 2006, he was named as an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic.[6] In August 2007, Kuester was named to Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown's staff, replacing the departing Kenny Natt.[7]

In July 2009, Kuester was hired as head coach of the Detroit Pistons, replacing Michael Curry.[8] An agreement was made after the Pistons and their first choice, Avery Johnson, broke off contract talks.[9] On June 5, 2011, Kuester was fired from his position as head coach of the Detroit Pistons.[10]

On June 29, 2011, he was hired as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers under new head coach Mike Brown. Since his days in Cleveland, this marked the second time Kuester has worked as an assistant coach under Brown.

On September 7, 2012, Kuester was named an advance scout for the Lakers.[11]

Family

Kuester and wife, Tricia, have a son, John III, and a daughter, Katelyn.[3] Katelyn ("Katie") played basketball at St. Joseph's University.[12][13]

Career playing statistics

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

Source[1]

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1977–78 Kansas City 78 15.6 .455 .829 1.5 3.2 .7 .0 4.8
1978–79 Denver 33 6.4 .308 .929 .4 1.1 .5 .0 1.4
1979–80 Indiana 24 0 4.2 .353 .000 .714 .6 .7 .3 .0 1.2
Career 135 0 11.3 .427 .000 .833 1.0 2.3 .6 .0 3.3

Head coaching record

College

Template:CBB Yearly Record Start Template:CBB Yearly Record Subhead Template:CBB Yearly Record Entry Template:CBB Yearly Record Entry Template:CBB Yearly Record Subtotal Template:CBB Yearly Record Subhead Template:CBB Yearly Record Entry Template:CBB Yearly Record Entry Template:CBB Yearly Record Entry Template:CBB Yearly Record Entry Template:CBB Yearly Record Entry Template:CBB Yearly Record Subtotal Template:CBB Yearly Record End

NBA

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 %

Template:NBA coach statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | style="text-align:left;"|2009–10 |82||27||55||.329|| style="text-align:center;"|5th in Central||—||—||—||— | style="text-align:center;"|Missed Playoffs |- | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | style="text-align:left;"|2010–11 |82||30||52||.366|| style="text-align:center;"|4th in Central||—||—||—||— | style="text-align:center;"|Missed Playoffs |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"|Career | ||164||57||107||.348|| ||—||—||—||— |}

References

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  1. a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. a b c Nets Name John Kuester Assistant Coach, July 23, 2004
  3. a b c d e f g h Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". @ nba.com (2.63 MiB)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; retrieved August 14, 2007
  4. 1977 NCAA basketball tournament Script error: No such module "webarchive"., shrpsports.com
  5. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"., nba.com (1.35 MiB)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; retrieved August 14, 2007
  6. Orlando magic hire John Kuester as assistant coach, July 6, 2006
  7. Cavs interested in retired guard Allan Houston Script error: No such module "webarchive"., ohio.com, published August 12, 2007
  8. Kuester: 'There is no magic formula', espn.com, published July 10, 2009
  9. Sources: Pistons turn to Kuester
  10. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. Bayou Prospect Watch, hoopgurlz.com, by Glenn Nelson, posted July 28, 2007
  13. SJU player profile Script error: No such module "webarchive".

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External links

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