John Bradley Holland (born December 6, 1956) is a retired American professional

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. He played for four years at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(from 1975 to 1979). He was a member of the 1980

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

championship team. He was the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

head basketball coach until March 2007. On April 25, 2007, he was named as one of three finalists to become the new head coach of

UC Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

's men's basketball program, but lost out to

Jim Wooldridge James Allen Wooldridge (born August 22, 1955) is an American former college basketball coach and athletics administrator. Wooldridge was head coach at Central Missouri State, Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Kansas State, and UC Riverside. After hi ...

. Holland served as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara during the 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 seasons.

Early years

Born in

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

, he was a

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

star at

Crescenta Valley High School Crescenta Valley High School is a high school in La Crescenta, California. Around 2500 students attend the school, which serves North Glendale, unincorporated La Crescenta and Montrose, as well as a municipal neighborhood on the western boundary o ...

. As a junior, he led the basketball team to the quarterfinals of the CIF 4-A playoffs. As a senior, he averaged 34.9 points per game and scored more than 50 points in two contests.

College career

Holland accepted a basketball scholarship from

, and holds the distinction of being the last player recruited by coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

. As a freshman, he only started 7 games, but was part of a team that reached the Final Four in 1976. As a sophomore, he struggled and started only eleven games, averaging 6.6 points, 2.0 assists and 1.2 rebounds. In the first round 87–79 victory against the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

in the NCAA tournament, he scored 16 points and helped guard talented freshman

Darrell Griffith Darrell Steven Griffith (born June 16, 1958), also known by his nickname Dr. Dunkenstein, is an American former basketball player who spent his entire professional career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association from 1980 to 1991 ...

. As a junior, he remained a reserve player, averaging 6.0 points, 1.4 assists and 0.6 rebounds. As a senior, he became a full-time starter, averaging 17.5 points, 4.8 assists and had a .598 field goal percentage, the best ever for a Bruin guard. He averaged 18.3 points during the NCAA tournament. He also received honorable-mention All-American and second-team Academic All-American honors. He became part of four Pac-10 championships from 1976–1979, two under coach

Gene Bartow Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 January 3, 2012) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Browning, Missouri, native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coac ...

and two under coach

Gary Cunningham Gary Cunningham is an American former basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1977 to 1979, guiding the UCLA Bruins men' ...

. He graduated in 1979 from UCLA with a B.A. degree in

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Professional career

Holland was selected by the

in the first round (14th overall) of the 1979 NBA draft. As a rookie, he was a reserve player, contributing to clinch the 1980 championship, by scoring 8 points in the 123–107 decisive victory over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

in Game 6 of the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

. In the 1980–81 season, he was a role player, averaging 3.2 points, 0.6 assists and 0.7 rebounds. On August 5, 1981, he was traded along with forward

Jim Chones James Bernett “Bunny” Chones (born November 30, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player, and current radio analyst for the Cleveland Cavaliers. A 6'11" forward/center, Chones starred at Marquette University, where he earne ...

, a 1982 second draft pick (#44- Mike Gibson and a 1983 first draft choice (#22-

Randy Wittman Randy Scott Wittman (born October 28, 1959) is an American former basketball player at the guard position and former coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Washington Wizards. Playing career High school Wittman starr ...

), in exchange for the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

not matching the offer sheet that

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Mitch Kupchak Mitchell Kupchak (born May 24, 1954) is an American professional basketball executive and retired player. He is the current president of basketball operations and general manager of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

signed with the Lakers on July 23. On December 26, he was released by the Bullets. On April 16, 1982, he was signed as a

by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, to provide depth for an injured

Quinn Buckner William Quinn Buckner (born August 20, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiate basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers, and won a national championship in 1976. He was a captain of both ...

. In September 1982, he was given permission from the Bucks to attend the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

rookie-free agent camp, with the condition of receiving compensation if Holland decided to stay. On September 29, he opted to announce his retirement instead of reporting, because of pain in his knees after three knee operations. He later entered private business and worked as a broadcaster at Prime Ticket from 1985–1998.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1979–80† , align="left" ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, 38 , , – , , 5.2 , , .423 , , .200 , , .938 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 41 , , – , , 7.2 , , .423 , , .333 , , .714 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 13 , , 3 , , 14.2 , , .370 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 4.4 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 93 , , 3 , , 7.4 , , .403 , , .190 , , .746 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 3.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1979–80† , align="left" ,

, 9 , , – , , 3.6 , , .500 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 1.6 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , – , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , – , , 3.0 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 11 , , – , , 3.3 , , .545 , , – , , 1.000 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 1.5

Coaching career

Cal State Fullerton

In his first year at Cal State Fullerton Holland received rave reviews for turning around the CSUF basketball program. During the 1992–93 season, Holland's team finished 15–12, posting the school's first winning record since 1985 and going 10–8 in the Big West Conference. Holland's 1993–94 team lost three players to season-ending injuries prior to the first game. They finished 8–19 overall, and 8th-place in the Big West. He left his post suddenly in September 1994, just two months before the start of the 1994–95 season. Several years after his departure from Fullerton, it surfaced that Holland was responsible for several NCAA violations, which resulted in the program being placed on probation for 4 years

University of San Diego

He compiled a record of 200–176 in thirteen years as San Diego head coach. In only two years did San Diego finish with a record of below .500. Holland led the Toreros to the West Coast Conference championship in 2003, beating Gonzaga in the conference tournament on San Diego's home court. He was fired at the completion of the 2006–2007 season to be replaced by

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

assistant coach

Bill Grier William Theodore Grier (born October 19, 1963) is an American college basketball coach. He is currently an assistant coach at the University of Colorado and was formerly the head men's basketball coach at the University of San Diego. Early caree ...

Coaching success

As a coach, Holland achieved WCC coach of the year for the 1998–99 season, while directing USD to an 18–9 record and second-place finish in the West Coast Conference race (9–5)

Highlights for that team include an important win over Texas in the

Torero A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...

Tip-off, and the team's upset over then No. 25-ranked Gonzaga 75–59. In 1999–200

Holland earned the Toreros 20 wins and 10 WCC victories, the school's most since the 1987 season. The efforts earned Holland the WCC Coach of the Year by his peers for the second season in a row. The Toreros had won seven of their final ten games to finish strong again, a hallmark of Holland coached teams. The season was marked by WCC wins at Gonzaga (82–70) and at home over WCC champion Pepperdine (73–62). The Toreros ended at 10–2 at home, and were 9–7 on the road, including an excellent 5–2 WCC road mark. CollegeInsider.com named Holland as the 2004–05 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year. Seniors Brandon Gay and Brice Vounang were both named to the NABC District 15 Second Team.

2002–03

In 2002–03, Holland managed to guide USD to an impressive 18–12 record, the 2003 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

and its first trip to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

tournament in sixteen years. As a 13 seed in the South region, San Diego lost in the first round to Stanford, 77–69.

2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2003, and ended with the championshi ...

2005–06

The 2005–06 season was Holland's 12th season at the helm of the USD's

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...

. He guided them to 108 victories over the past seven seasons including a personal-best 20 win season in 1999–2000. In the 2004–2005 season he directed the Toreros to a 16–13 mark, which finished them at 3rd in the West Coast Conference. It tallied its biggest turnaround in Division I Basketball for the wins with an addition of twelve victories. With the team's 69–61 home win over San Francisco on February 9, Holland became the program's all-winningest coach. Holland's USD career mark before the Saturday's game in 2005 was 163–149. This included two years at CS Fullerton, which makes his overall coaching record 186–180.

Holland's firing

Holland was subsequently fired at the end of the 2006–2007 season to be replaced by Gonzaga University's assistant coach, Bill Grier. This was a fairly controversial move by the Toreros because supporters pointed to the fact that Holland was the winningest coach in Toreros history and joined Jim Brovelli and Hank Egan in leading USD to the NCAA Tournament. He also was very supportive of the school's strict academic requirements and nearly every player he coached went on to graduate. A lack of recent success was cited as the major reason for Holland's firing. Since the Toreros' trip to the 2003 NCAA Tournament, Holland's teams achieved little success beyond the occasional victory over cross-town rivals

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

, and wins in the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

tournament. Because of this, student and city apathy in the program was growing and USD Athletic Director Ky Snyder believed it was best to refresh the program with

, a coach from a successful rival program,

Head coaching record

References

External links

San Diego Hall of Champions

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Brad 1956 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball coaches from Montana Basketball players from Montana Basketball players from San Diego Cal State Fullerton Titans men's basketball coaches Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players Milwaukee Bucks players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) San Diego Toreros men's basketball coaches Shooting guards Sportspeople from Billings, Montana UCLA Bruins men's basketball coaches UCLA Bruins men's basketball players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball coaches Washington Bullets players