Dean Meminger

Dean Meminger

No. 7
Point guard
Personal information
Born	May 13, 1948 (1948-05-13) Walterboro, South Carolina
Nationality	American
High school	Rice (New York City, New York)
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
College	Marquette
NBA Draft	1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16th overall
Selected by the New York Knicks
Pro career	1971–1977
Career history
1971–1974	New York Knicks
1974–1976	Atlanta Hawks
1976–1977	New York Knicks
Career highlights and awards
NBA Champion (1973) Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1971)
Career statistics
Points	2,552 (6.1 ppg)
Rebounds	1,086 (2.6 rpg)
Assists	1,046 (2.5 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Dean Peter Meminger ("Dean the Dream"; "Petey" to his friends and teammates) (born May 13, 1948, in Walterboro, South Carolina) is an American basketball player and coach. Meminger starred at Rice High School in New York City. He attended Marquette University, where he played for coach Al McGuire. He was drafted in the first round (number 16 overall) of the 1971 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, where he played from 1971 to 1974 and 1976-1977. Meminger played for the Atlanta Hawks from 1974 to 1976.

Career

Meminger was head coach of the New York Stars in the Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL), which played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. Meminger, with rookie trainer Rick Capistran at his side, guided the Stars to the league championship during the 1979-80 season and was named the league's coach of the year. The team's great success, however, was not enough to save the Stars, which lost so much money the team folded without being able to repeat as champions. Meminger was coaxed to head west, leaving Capistran behind, when he signed up to coach the San Francisco Pioneers in what would be the league's final season.

Among the players Meminger coached to a championship were twins Faye and Kaye Young, fresh out of North Carolina State University. Kaye is married to former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher.

In 1982 Meminger was hired to coach the Albany Patroons in the Continental Basketball Association. He was dismissed for his combative style with his players and replaced by his former Knicks teammate and friend Phil Jackson. Meminger convinced Jackson to let him try out for the team but he was unable to resurrect his career on the court.

Meminger coached the USBL's Long Island Knights in 1987, and in later years, spent some time coaching at Manhattanville College in New York.

Fire Incident

On November 22, 2009, Meminger was rescued from a fire in the Bronx, NYC. Suffering from smoke inhalation, he was admitted to the burn unit of Jacobi Medical Center. Meminger has recovered and is still active in local basketball events. He and trainer Rick Capistran recently reconnected after 30 years when Capistran tracked his old coach down after reading about Meminger's brush with death in the '09 fire.

His son, who goes by the same name, is a news reporter and anchor for NY1 News.

External links

• My Life by Dean Meminger
• NBA statistics @ basketballreference.com
• Mad Season: The Story of the First Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978-1981 by Karra Porter