Harvard Schmidt (September 25, 1935 – April 7, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 195 pounds (88 kg) small forward from Kankakee, Illinois. Schmidt attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he played from 1954 to 1957 for the men's basketball team. He also coached the Fighting Illini men's basketball team for seven years from 1967 to 1974.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 25, 1935 Kankakee, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 7, 2020 (aged 83) Windsor, Colorado, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1954–1957 | Illinois |
| Position(s) | Small forward |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1967–1974 | Illinois |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 89–77 |
Schmidt averaged 12.3 points per game for his collegiate career, playing in 65 games. He was selected in the second round (11th pick overall) of the 1957 NBA Draft by the Minneapolis Lakers.[1]
Schmidt was appointed by his alma mater on March 29, 1967, to succeed Harry Combes who had been his head coach a decade earlier and was pressured into resigning ten days prior by the university which was threatened with expulsion by the Big Ten Conference over a slush fund scandal.[2][3] He compiled a record of 89 wins and 77 losses.[4][5][6] He died on April 7, 2020, at the age of 83.[7]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (1967–1974) | |||||||||
| 1967–68 | Illinois | 11–13 | 6–8 | T–7th | |||||
| 1968–69 | Illinois | 19–5 | 9–5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1969–70 | Illinois | 15–9 | 8–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1970–71 | Illinois | 11–12 | 5–9 | T–5th | |||||
| 1971–72 | Illinois | 14–10 | 5–9 | T–8th | |||||
| 1972–73 | Illinois | 14–10 | 8–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1973–74 | Illinois | 5–18 | 2–12 | 10th | |||||
| Illinois: | 89–77 | 43–55 | |||||||
| Total: | 89–77 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 22, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Illinois Names Coaches," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, March 30, 1967 (scroll down to page 7). Retrieved July 29, 2020
- ^ "Slush Fund Scandal: Three Illini Coaches Quit," United Press International (UPI), Monday, March 20, 1967. Retrieved July 29, 2020
- ^ "2021–22 Illinois Basketball Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2021. p. 81. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ www.fightingillini.com https://web.archive.org/web/20100322194327/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/MBKBHist-All-TimeRosters--1925-49.html. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Schmidt 'righted the program’ in aftermath of slush-fund scandal at Illinois