- Jud Heathcote
George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote is a former
college basketball coach. He was ahead coach for 24 seasons at the collegiate level: five at Montana (1971-76) and 19 at Michigan State (1976-95).Bio
He was born
May 27 ,1927 in Harvey,North Dakota , to Marion Grant Heathcote and Fawn (Walsh) Heathcote. Two years after his father died in adiphtheria epidemic of 1930, he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents inManchester, Washington , where he lived the entire time he grew up.Coaching career
The stint at Montana was the first for Jud as
head coach of a college varsity program. Previously, he had coached at West Valley High School in Spokane for 14 seasons, and at Washington State for seven years, five seasons asfreshman coach and two seasons as frosh-varsity coach.In the 1974-75 season at Montana, he lead them to their first Big Sky championship. The Grizzlies advanced to the NCAA regionals, losing to eventual tournament champion
UCLA . Heathcote then moved to Michigan State in 1976 to begin the most successful phase of his coaching career.In his third season at Michigan State, Heathcote guided the Spartans to the 1979 NCAA Championship. The Spartans, led by
Magic Johnson , defeated theLarry 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.References
Autobiography: "Jud : A Magical Journey / Jud Heathcote with Jack Ebling ;" Publisher Champaign, IL : Sagamore, c1995. ISBN 1571670165.
External links
* [http://www.montanagrizzlies.com/content/boosters/10261996.htm#jheath Montana Grizzlies Hall of Fame] - Jud Heathcote - inducted 1996
* [http://www.battleinseattle.com/honoree.php Battle in Seattle honoree] - Dec.2005 - Jud Heathcote
* [http://espn.go.com/ncb/columns/katz_andy/1544666.html ESPN.com] - Heathcote coaching "family" - Apr.18-2003
*Lansing State Journal - [http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708050662 article] - He's 80, but Jud remains the same - Aug.7-2007
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