Randy Scott Wittman (born October 28, 1959 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is currently the interim head coach for the Washington Wizards. He is also a retired American basketball player, in the guard position, and former coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] College
6'6" Wittman played college basketball at Indiana University, winning an NCAA championship playing for Bobby Knight in 1981, and was the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1983. He became a member of the university's Hall of Fame and was named to Indiana’s Silver Anniversary Basketball Team, in March 1996.
[edit] Professionals
Wittman was selected by the Washington Bullets with the 22nd pick of the 1983 NBA Draft. However, he never played for the Bullets, his rights being traded to the Atlanta Hawks.
Wittman spent the early portion of his career with the Hawks, sharing backcourt with Glenn "Doc" Rivers and Anthony "Spud" Webb, and starting most of the games from 1985-88 (while averaging 12 points and 3.5 assists in those years combined).
After a small spell with the Sacramento Kings, he became a fringe player with the Indiana Pacers, retiring in 1991-92 after three unassuming years. For his career, Wittman averaged 7.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, shooting just over 50% from the field.
[edit] Coaching career
In 1992, Wittman began his NBA coaching career as an assistant coach, first with the Pacers. He spent one season in Indianapolis and another with the Dallas Mavericks (and later with the Orlando Magic).
Subsequently, Wittman spent from 1994-99 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, in the same capacity. During that period, he helped in the development of Wolves' star forward Kevin Garnett. Wittman then served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for two seasons, (1999–2001), compiling a record of 62-102.
On January 23, 2007, Wittman became the head coach of the Timberwolves, succeeding Dwane Casey; he had already started the season as assistant to the former.
On December 8, 2008, club owner Glen Taylor fired Wittman after a 4-19 start, asking Kevin McHale to step in, in a complete change of the organization's structure, as the former Boston Celtics great had been Minnesota's vice-president of basketball operations since 1995.
Wittman is now acting head coach of the Washington Wizards. He accepted the position after Flip Saunders was fired in January 2012 for a 2-15 start.
[edit] Personal life
His son Ryan Wittman starred for the Cornell Big Red basketball team; he helped lead the Big Red to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years during the 2007-08 season, again in 2009,[1] and to Cornell's first-ever NCAA basketball tournament victories in 2010 over the Temple Owls and Wisconsin Badgers as the Big Red made its first-ever trip to the NCAA Men's Sweet 16.[2]
[edit] Coaching record
| 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 |
| CLE |
1999–00 |
82 |
32 |
50 |
.390 |
6th in Central |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Missed Playoffs |
| CLE |
2000–01 |
82 |
30 |
52 |
.366 |
6th in Central |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Missed Playoffs |
| MIN |
2006–07 |
42 |
12 |
30 |
.286 |
4th in Northwest |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Missed Playoffs |
| MIN |
2007–08 |
82 |
22 |
60 |
.268 |
5th in Northwest |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Missed Playoffs |
| MIN |
2008–09 |
19 |
4 |
15 |
.211 |
(fired) |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| Career |
|
307 |
100 |
207 |
.326 |
|
— |
— |
— |
— |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Formerly the Chicago Packers, the Chicago Zephyrs, the Baltimore Bullets, the Capital Bullets, and the Washington Bullets • Founded in 1961 • Based in Washington, D.C. |
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Wittman, Randy |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
American basketball player-coach |
| Date of birth |
October 28, 1959 |
| Place of birth |
Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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