Pierre André Buffière (12 November 1922 – 2 October 2014) was a French

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He was born in Vion, Ardèche.André Buffière's obituary
He was awarded the Glory of Sport in 1995. He was inducted into the

French Basketball Hall of Fame The French Basketball Academy ( French: Académie du basket-ball français) is a hall of fame that honors individuals (or whole teams) that have contributed to the spread and improvement of French basketball, through their sporting contributions, ...

, in 2004.

Club playing career

During his

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

career, Buffière won 6 French League championships, in the years 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, and 1955, and the

French Cup The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...

, in 1953.

National team playing career

Buffière played at the

1948 Summer Olympic Games The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

, and at the

1952 Summer Olympic Games The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. At the 1948 London Olympic Games, he was a part of the senior French national team that won the silver medal. Four years later, at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, he was a member of the French team, which finished in eighth place.

Coaching career

Buffière had a long career as a

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

. As a

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

on the club level, he was a two time

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

champion (1982, 1983), a six time French League champion (1950, 1952, 1955, 1975, 1977, 1983), and a three time

winner (1953, 1982, 1983). He was also the head coach of the senior

French national basketball team The France men's national basketball team (french: Équipe de France de basketball) represents France in international basketball and is administered by the French Federation of Basketball. France is currently ranked fifth in the FIBA World Ran ...

, from 1957 to 1964.

References

External links

profile
* André Buffière's career
André Buffière's 90th birthday
1922 births 2014 deaths Sportspeople from Ardèche French basketball coaches French men's basketball players Olympic basketball players of France Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic medalists in basketball Limoges CSP coaches ASVEL Basket coaches ASVEL Basket players Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Paris Racing Basket coaches Le Mans Sarthe Basket coaches Union athlétique de Marseille players Shooting guards ESSMG Lyon players Stade Auto Lyon coaches 1954 FIBA World Championship players {{France-Olympic-medalist-stub