Quinn Buckner

Quinn Buckner

Personal information
Born	(1954-08-20)August 20, 1954 Phoenix, Illinois,U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school	Thornridge(Dolton, Illinois)
College	Indiana(1972–1976)
NBA draft	1976:1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by theMilwaukee Bucks
Playing career	1976–1986
Position	Point guard
Number	21, 28, 25
Career history
As player:
1976–1982	Milwaukee Bucks
1982–1985	Boston Celtics
1985–1986	Indiana Pacers
As coach:
1993–1994	Dallas Mavericks
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion(1984) 4×NBA All-Defensive Second Team(1978,1980–1982) CCAT(1974) NCAA champion(1976) Third-teamAll-American–NABC(1975) 2× First-team All-Big Ten(1974, 1975) Mr. Basketball USA(1972) First-teamParadeAll-American(1972)
Career statistics
Points	5,929 (8.2 ppg)
Assists	3,114 (4.3 apg)
Steals	1,337 (1.9 spg)
Statsat NBA.com
Statsat Basketball-Reference.com
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2015
Medals Men'sbasketball RepresentingUnited States Olympic Games 1976 Montreal Team competition FIBA World Championship 1974 Puerto Rico Team competition

William Quinn Buckner(born August 20, 1954) is an American former professionalbasketballplayer and coach. He played collegiate basketball for theIndiana University Hoosiers,and won a national championship in1976.He was a captain of both the last undefeatedNCAA Division I basketball championand the1976 Olympicsgold medal team.Buckner was selected by theMilwaukee Buckswith the 7th pick of the1976 NBA draft.He had a ten-year NBA career for three teams (the Bucks, theBoston Celtics,and theIndiana Pacers). In1984,he won an NBA title with the Celtics.

Buckner is one of only eight players in history to win anNCAAchampionship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.He is one of only three players in history to win aHigh Schoolstate championship, NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. He also was a State Champion while playing high school basketball in Illinois.

In addition to his playing career, Buckner was the head coach of theDallas Mavericksfor one year, from1993 to 1994.Currently, Buckner is a color analyst for the Indiana Pacers television broadcast team onBally Sports Indiana.Buckner also was the play-by-play announcer on989 Sportsline of college basketball games for several years.

Early life

Born in 1954 inPhoenix, Illinois,Buckner played basketball atThornridge High SchoolinDolton, Illinois.His Falcons lost only one game during his junior and senior seasons and won back-to-back state titles. The 1972 team was undefeated, with no team coming within 14 points of it, and is often cited as the greatest team in the history of Illinois high school basketball.Buckner was also an excellent football player, making all-state in high school. He is the only person ever named Chicago area Player of the Year for both football and basketball.

In 2006, Buckner was voted as one of the100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament,a group of former players and coaches in honor of the 100 anniversary of theIHSA boys basketball tournament.

College career

Buckner elected to play college basketball for theIndiana University Hoosiersunder CoachBob Knight.He ended his college career as a four-year starter and three-year captain at Indiana, and also played football for one year. He seemed to get along with volatile Coach Knight better than any other player in the Hoosiers' history. "The one thing that I learned early was to respect authority figures, right or wrong", Buckner told theDallas Morning Newsconcerning his relationship with Knight.

In Buckner's freshman season, 1972–73, Indiana reached the Final Four, losing toUCLA.He played for theUnited States men's national basketball teamin the1974 FIBA World Championship,winning the bronze medal.In two consecutive seasons,1974–75and1975–76,the Hoosiers were undefeated in the regular season and won 37-consecutive Big Ten games. The1974–75Hoosiers swept the entire Big Ten by an average of 22.8 points per game. However, in an 83–82 win againstPurduethey lost consensus All-American forwardScott Mayto a broken left arm. With May's injury keeping him to 7 minutes of play, the No. 1 Hoosiers lost toKentucky92–90 in theMideast Regional.Buckner, along with three of his teammates, would make the five-man All-Big Ten team.

The following season,1975–76,Buckner served as a co-captain and the Hoosiers went the entire season and1976 NCAA tournamentwithout a single loss, beatingMichigan86–68 in the title game. Indiana remains the last school to accomplish this feat.

NBA career

In Buckner's 10-year NBA career he was a tough defender, a solid playmaker, and a stabilizing force in any lineup. At various stages he filled the role of team leader and trusty reserve.

Although he scored only 10.0 points per game during his college career, Buckner was selected by theMilwaukee Bucksin the first round of the1976 NBA draft,the seventh pick overall. He was also selected by theWashington Redskinsin the1976 NFL Draft.(Buckner had played free safety on the Hoosiers’ football team for two years.)

Before he joined the Bucks, Buckner played on the gold medal-winning 1976 U.S. Olympic basketball team alongsideAdrian Dantley,Mitch Kupchak,andScott May.But nothing could have prepared him for the NBA experience. Buckner's teams had suffered only 25 defeats in his eight years of high school and college basketball, and he had never been on a team that lost more than seven games in a season. But Milwaukee lost 52 times in 1976–77, finishing last in the Midwest Division.

Individually, Buckner proved to be a competent NBA player. He was unspectacular offensively, averaging 8.6 points while shooting.434 from the field, but he excelled on defense, ranking fourth in the league with 2.43 steals per game.

The next year Buckner raised his scoring slightly, to 9.3 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. That postseason, Buckner set a playoffs career-high with 19 points alongside recording 10 assists in a Game 7 loss against theDenver Nuggetsin the conference semifinals (the Bucks were in the Western Conference at the time).After a similar season in 1978–79, Buckner had his three best years. In 1979–80 he averaged 10.7 points and 5.7 assists, made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the second time, and helped the Bucks to the Midwest Division title. Under CoachDon Nelson,Milwaukee had assembled a solid lineup that included forwardMarques Johnson,centerBob Lanier,and guardsBrian Winters,Sidney Moncrief,andJunior Bridgeman.

The 1980–81 campaign saw Buckner play in all 82 games and notch career highs in scoring (13.3 ppg), field-goal percentage (.493), free-throw percentage (.734), and steals (197, third in the league). He repeated on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. The Bucks were outstanding, finishing 60–22 with a balanced offense that saw seven players average in double figures. Milwaukee had high hopes for the postseason, butJulius Erving'sPhiladelphia 76ersderailed the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Buckner had established a reputation as a solid, dependable player with good fundamentals. He was never going to be a flashy player or a big scorer; his low-trajectory shot was jokingly said to have been responsible for more bent rims thanDarryl Dawkins's dunks.

"My strength is defense," he said in theBoston Globe."Another is my overall knowledge of the game and being able to get everybody involved in the game. I’ve never had an illusion that shooting is one of my strengths. In fact, it was a very known weakness that I had.…You play with a lot of pride and work hard every night out."

Milwaukee was trying to add a few essential parts that would turn the team into a championship contender, and the bottleneck at guard made Buckner expendable.

Before the 1982–83 season he was traded to the Boston Celtics for centerDave Cowens.When Boston signed Buckner,Red Auerbachtold theBoston Globe,"He's a winner, a leader. He rises to the occasion. He has a good personality, he's team oriented, and he's disciplined." Buckner added, "I’ve always admired the Boston style of play, and I feel I can play it."

Milwaukee never did win the title. Boston, however, won a championship in 1984, with Buckner coming off the bench to spellDennis JohnsonandGerald Henderson.The Celtics went 62–20 during the regular season and then nudged theLos Angeles Lakersin a seven-game NBA Finals. With the NBA championship ring, Buckner completed an impressive résumé.

In three seasons with Boston, Buckner made small but regular contributions for a powerful Celtics team. The club returned to the Finals in 1985, but the Lakers exacted their revenge, winning in six games.

Following the season, Boston traded Buckner to theIndiana Pacersfor guardJerry Sichting.He opened the 1985–86 season with the Pacers but was waived after 32 games, and subsequently retired, ending his 10-year career.

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goalpercentage	3P%	3-point field goalpercentage	FT%	Free throwpercentage
RPG	Reboundsper game	APG	Assistsper game	SPG	Stealsper game
BPG	Blocksper game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1976–77	Milwaukee	79	–	26.5	.434	–	.539	3.3	4.7	2.4	0.3	8.6
1977–78	Milwaukee	82	–	25.3	.468	–	.645	3.0	5.6	2.3	0.2	9.3
1978–79	Milwaukee	81	–	21.7	.454	–	.632	2.6	5.8	1.9	0.2	7.2
1979–80	Milwaukee	67	–	25.2	.467	.400	.734	3.6	5.7	2.0	0.1	10.7
1980–81	Milwaukee	82	–	29.1	.493	.167	.734	3.6	4.7	2.4	0.0	13.3
1981–82	Milwaukee	70	70	30.8	.482	.267	.655	3.6	4.7	2.5	0.0	12.9
1982–83	Boston	72	56	21.7	.442	.000	.632	2.6	3.8	1.5	0.1	7.9
1983–84	Boston	79	0	15.8	.427	.000	.649	1.7	2.7	1.1	0.0	4.1
1984–85	Boston	75	6	11.4	.383	.000	.640	1.2	2.0	0.8	0.0	2.4
1985–86	Indiana	32	3	13.1	.471	.000	.704	1.6	2.7	1.3	0.1	3.7
Career		719	135	22.6	.461	.184	.657	2.7	4.3	1.9	0.1	8.2

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1977–78	Milwaukee	9	–	28.6	.500	–	.652	3.0	6.9	2.0	0.1	11.2
1979–80	Milwaukee	7	–	23.6	.340	.000	.636	2.3	4.4	2.1	0.0	6.1
1980–81	Milwaukee	7	–	26.1	.433	.000	.688	2.9	5.0	1.6	0.0	9.0
1982–83	Boston	7	–	14.0	.432	.000	.000	1.4	0.3	0.1	0.0	4.6
1983–84	Boston	23	–	11.7	.405	.000	.545	1.5	1.2	0.6	0.0	3.3
1984–85	Boston	15	0	5.7	.591	.000	.625	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.0	2.1
Career		68	0	15.5	.439	.000	.610	1.7	2.5	0.9	0.0	5.1

Broadcasting career

He later on became a broadcaster forESPNandNBC.He also called college and NBA basketball forCBS Sportsand called games for theMinnesota Timberwolvesin the early 1990s withKevin Harlan,as well as games for theCleveland Cavaliers.

Buckner now calls Indianapolis his home and is the color commentator forIndiana Pacerstelevision broadcasts (onFox Sports Indianafrom 1999 to 2021 and Bally Sports Indiana since 2021). Buckner participates in community relations efforts and contributes to Pacers TipOff, a game preview newsletter distributed via e-mail for every home Pacers game.

Coaching career

He was named head coach of theDallas Mavericksfor 1993–94. The club had gone 11–71 the previous season, and the franchise was in disarray. Although Buckner had noNBAcoaching experience, Mavericks ownerDon Carterhoped Buckner's charismatic personality and lifelong knack for winning would rub off on the young team. In an interview with theArizona Republic,Buckner repeated his success formula: "Dedication, commitment, extreme concentration, discipline, realizing it can’t be done alone, it has to be done through the team."

Believing that his young charges needed more discipline, Buckner determined from the start to be a stern taskmaster in Knight's mold. Knight had advised Buckner that he would only be able to win in the NBA if he ran his team with an iron hand.The plan backfired, with many of the players (includingJamal Mashburn) complaining publicly about Buckner's heavy-handed coaching style. NBA historian Peter Bjarkman even suggested that Buckner frequently consulted with Knight during the season. They started 1–23, and for a while it looked like they would break the 1972–73Philadelphia 76ers'recordfor the most losses in a season. Buckner loosened the reins a little bit as the season wore on, but it was not enough to keep the team from finishing 13–69—by far the worst record in the league, and at the time the worst record ever for a rookie coach who managed to survive for a full season (surpassed byBill Hanzlikwith the1997–98 Denver Nuggets).

Buckner also angered Carter and other executives by not consulting them on hiring assistant coaches; they only learned about those hires when they called and asked how much they would get for moving expenses. Although Buckner had a five-year contract, Carter decided that "too many bridges had been burned" and fired him after the season.

Head coaching record

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	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
Dallas	1993–94	82	13	69	.159	6th in Midwest	–	–	–	–	Missed Playoffs
Career		82	13	69	.159		–	–	–	–

Personal life

In July 2004, Buckner was named the Vice President of Communications for Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E), which owns and operates theIndiana Pacers,theWNBA'sIndiana Feverand the Pacers Foundation, Inc.

In 2016, Buckner was appointed to theIndiana UniversityBoard of Trustees by GovernorMike Penceand is the current chair of the board.

Buckner has four children with his wife Rhonda; Jason, Cory, Lauren and Alexsandra.

He is a member ofAlpha Phi Alphafraternity.

See also

• List of National Basketball Association single-game steals leaders

External links

• Indiana Pacers: Quinn Buckner, Cable TV Color Analyst
• BasketballReference.com: Quinn Buckner (as coach)
• BasketballReference.com: Quinn Buckner (as player)