John D. Douglas

John David Douglas (born June 12 1956, in Town Creek, Alabama) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 6'2" (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) guard.

A 6'2" guard, he was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in 1978 (6th round, 118th pick), after playing for Calhoun Community College and the University of Kansas Jayhawks for whom he averaged 18.9 points.

After a couple of years in the Continental Basketball Association, he finally joined the San Diego Clippers, averaging 6.7 points and 2.2 assists in 67 games.

Playing Days (Collegiate)

John Douglas’ collegiate career began at Calhoun Community College where his freshman season saw the Warhawks go 27-3 and a #3 national ranking. After two excellent seasons at Calhoun, where he still holds numerous scoring records, John transferred to the University of Kansas where his record breaking pace continued. His 46 points on the road against Iowa State in 1978 broke the legendary Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most points scored by a visiting player in the Big Eight Conference. John went on to earn All Big Eight Honors, Honorable Mention All American, Newcomer of the Year and MVP at KU.

Playing Days (Professional)

John was drafted into the NBA by the New Orleans Jazz in 1979. He spent two years in the CBA where his team played for the championship both years under head coach George Karl. John returned to the NBA to play for the San Diego Clippers in 1981 for two years. After leaving the Clippers, John was drawn to the European Professional Leagues by his brother, Leon Douglas, who was playing in Venice, Italy. John signed with Fortitudo Bologna squad for four years. He also played in Reims, France and Lugano, Switzerland.

Although his playing days were over, his true love for the game was just beginning. His enthusiasm for people, life and playing basketball naturally evolved into an eagerness to teach the game he grew up loving. He saw coaching as an opportunity to give back to the community and to help young people develop valuable life skills for a successful future while enjoying the game of basketball.

John Douglas - The Coach

John began his coaching career as an assistant at Calhoun Community College. Before long, he moved into the lead role as head coach. Entering his 15th year as a head coach, John Douglas has proven himself to be one of the state’s best teachers of the game. He is only the second coach in the history of Alabama Junior Colleges to have coached in a National Championship game (in 2000). His assistant coach in 2000 was Dr. Paul D. Thomas who had served in that capacity since 1995. John and his Assistant continued to improve throughout the seasons until their phenomenal finish in 2000. In the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament, John's assistant led the Warhawks out individually while the other 15 teams had from 3-4 assistant coaches to do the same. This only solidified the cohesive effort the two coaches had dedicated themselves to for five years. It also showed that coach Thomas definitely had the pulse of the players. The success brought many accolades to the coaches, players and Calhoun Community College. In a Basketball publication the following year, the Warhawks were pre-season picked as #2 in the nation; a team that had only been in Division 1 the first year they made their appearance in Hutchinson. Although John was given the due credit that a head coach is due, he did not forget the relentless effort and dedication of his assistant coach. The two coaches remain in contact and Dr. Thomas has written a book about he and John Douglas's experiences during that championship season entitled Bring on the Hardwood; due out in October 2008. A three-time Coach of the Year winner, Coach Douglas was selected to be a court coach with the USA Olympic Team in 2000 after his Calhoun Community College team finished 32-4 and Runner-up in the NJCAA National Tournament.

John has turned around two programs in a short period of time. When he took the job at [http://www.lawsonstate.edu Lawson State Community College] in 2003, he coached the team to a 46-16 record his first two years, finishing 2nd and 1st in conference play. The Lawson State Men’s Basketball Program had a record of 8-20 the year prior to his arrival. To date, he has won over 70% of his games as a head coach with three different teams and he is still looking forward to the opportunity to coach at the NCAA Division I level.

External links

* [http://www.rockchalk.com/jayhawks/dougljoh.sht John Douglas' Career Stats] at rockchalk.com
* [http://www.douglasintl.com Douglas International Scouting Service] at www.douglasintl.com
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/dougljo01.html John Douglas statistics] at Basketball-Reference.com

John Douglas' Quick Facts

COLLEGES:
John C. Calhoun Community College, 1974-1976
- - - (AJCAA) Hall of Fame
- - - Colbert County Sports Hall of Fame

The University of Kansas, 1976-1978
- - - [Big Eight Conference|Big Eight] Newcomer of the Year; All Big Eight Team;
- - - Honorable Mention -All American; All Region; Team MVP

PROFESSIONAL:
Drafted by New Orleans Jazz, 1978

Montana Golden Nuggets (CBA), 1978-1980
- - - (George Karl—head coach)

Los Angeles Clippers (NBA), 1980-1982
European Leagues, 1982-1990

COACHING:
Collegiate Head Coach, 15 years

Calhoun Community College

ACCC Champions /Coach of the year, 2000

NJCAA Coach of the Year, Finalist, 2000

NJCAA National Tournament Runner Up, 2000

[http://www.lawsonstate.edu Lawson State Community College]

ACCC Conference Champs, 2005; Co-Champs, 2004
ACCC State Tournament Semi-finalist, 2006; 2008

USA National Olympic Team, Court Coach, 2000

Coached 2 years in the World Basketball Association
- - - Magic City Court Kings, Summer 2005
- - - Druid City Dragons, Summer 2006

References

1. ACCC Hall of Fame [http://www.acccsports.org/acccpages/hofmember/12.jsp Alabama Community College Conference]
2. KU Sports [http://www.kusports.com/basketball/history/scoring_records.html Men's Basketball Scoring Records]
3. Basketball-Reference.com [http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/draft.cgi?college=kansas Players drafted from University of Kansas]
4. Players Who Attended University of Kansas [http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/colleges.cgi?college=kansas KU Basketball Players]
5. Rockchalk.com [http://www.rockchalk.com/jayhawks/honors.sht KU Basketball Honors/Awards]
6. Rockchalk.com [http://www.rockchalk.com/jayhawks/dougljoh.sht John Douglas' Career Stats]
7. [http://www.lawsonstate.edu/athletics04/index.html Lawson State 2004]