John Kuester

John Kuester

Point guard
Personal information
Date of birth	February 6, 1955 (1955-02-06)
Place of birth	Richmond, Virginia
Nationality	American
High school	Benedictine (Virginia)
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College	North Carolina (1973–1977)
NBA Draft	1977 / 53rd overall
Selected by the Kansas City Kings
Pro career	1977–1980
Career history
As player:
1977–1978	Kansas City Kings
1978–1979	Denver Nuggets
1979–1980	Indiana Pacers
As coach:
1980–1981	Richmond Spiders (NCAA) (asst.)
1981–1983	Boston University Terriers (NCAA) (asst.)
1983–1985	Boston University Terriers (NCAA)
1985–1990	George Washington Colonials (NCAA)
1995–1997	Boston Celtics (asst.)
1997–2003	Philadelphia 76ers (asst.)
2003–2004	Detroit Pistons (asst.)
2004–2005	New Jersey Nets (asst.)
2005–2006	Philadelphia 76ers (asst.)
2006–2007	Orlando Magic (asst.)
2007–2009	Cleveland Cavaliers (asst.)
2009–2011	Detroit Pistons
2011–present	Los Angeles Lakers (asst.)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

John Dewitt Kuester, Jr. (pronounced: (/ˈkjuːstər/; QUE-ster) (born February 6, 1955, in Richmond, Virginia) is an American basketball coach.

He played in the 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 on July 9, 2009. An agreement was made after the Pistons and their first choice, Avery Johnson, broke off contract talks. Kuester coached the Pistons for two seasons.

He was a 6'2" (1.88 m) and 180 lb (82 kg) guard and played collegiately with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels from 1973–77.

Playing career

High School

Kuester played four years at Benedictine for legendary coach Warren Rutledge. His senior year the Cadets were 33-1.

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, in which they lost to Marquette 67–59. In both his junior and senior year (1976 and 1977), Kuester was voted UNC's best defensive player. Also in his senior year, as was voted Most Valuable Player of the ACC Tournament and the NCAA East Regionals.

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. 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 in 1980 to 1981. 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.

From 1985 to 1990 he 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.

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, and from 1997 to 2003 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, and returned to the 76ers once more in 2005-06. In July 2006, Kuester was named as an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic.

In August 2007, Kuester was named to Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown's staff, replacing the departing Kenny Natt.

In July 2009, Kuester was hired as head coach of the Detroit Pistons, replacing Michael Curry.

On June 5, 2011, Kuester was fired from his position as head coach of the Detroit Pistons.

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

Family

Kuester and wife, Tricia, have a son, John III, and a daughter, Katelyn. Katelyn ("Katie") is a women's basketball player who in 2007 verbally committed to attend St. Joseph's University, and completed her sophomore season in 2009-10.

Coaching record

College

School	Season	Record
		Overall	Conference
Boston University	1983–1984	20-9	0-0
Boston University	1984–1985	15-13	0-0
George Washington	1985–1986	12-16	7-11
George Washington	1986–1987	10-19	6-12
George Washington	1987–1988	10-17	0-0
George Washington	1988–1989	1-27	1-17
George Washington	1989–1990	14-17	10-6

NBA

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win-loss  %
Post season	PG	Playoff Games	PW	Playoff Wins	PL	Playoff Losses	PW–L %	Playoff Win-loss  %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
DET	2009–10	82	27	55	.329	5th in Central	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
DET	2010–11	82	30	52	.366	4th in Central	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Career		164	57	107	.348		—	—	—	—

External links

• NBA.com John Kuester coach file
• NBA stats @ basketballreference.com