Lewis Joseph "Dan" D’Antoni II (born July 9, 1947) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
former
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 current head coach for the
Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball
The Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team represents Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. They compete in the NCAA Division I as a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
Marshall has advanced to the NCAA tournament five times ...
team. He was previously an assistant coach under his younger brother,
Mike D'Antoni
Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
While head coach of the Ph ...
, with the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
's
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
,
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
, and
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 ...
.
Playing career
Born in
Mullens, West Virginia
Mullens is a city in Wyoming County, West Virginia. The population was 1,475 at the time of the 2020 census.
Located in a valley along the Guyandotte River within a mountainous region of southern West Virginia, the town was nearly destroyed by f ...
, D'Antoni played
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
at
Marshall University
Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States.
The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...
from 1966–1970. He was the Thundering Herd's starting
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
from 1968–70. He led the Herd with a 17.5 scoring average in 1968–69. In 1990, he was inducted into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Coaching career
High school
After D'Antoni graduated from
Marshall University
Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States.
The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...
, he joined the Herd's coaching staff as the head coach of the freshman basketball team coaching his brother Mike, before becoming an assistant coach of the varsity squad. After failing to make the
Baltimore Bullets, he became the head basketball coach at
Socastee High School
Socastee High School (abbreviated SHS) is a large, three-story public high school with about 1,700 students located in Socastee, South Carolina in the Myrtle Beach metro area. It is run by Horry County Schools.
Academics
Socastee High Scho ...
in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...
, in 1975. D'Antoni coached for 30 years at Socastee through 2005 and accumulated over 500 wins. He also founded the
Beach Ball Classic The Beach Ball Classic is an annual high school basketball competition hosted in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
History
The Beach Ball Classic was founded by Marshall University basketball coach Dan D'Antoni in 1981 in order to bring more high sc ...
, one of the most prestigious high school basketball tournaments in the country during his tenure. In 2016, he was elected into the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
NBA
In the summer of 2005, he became an assistant with the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
under younger brother Mike. Shortly after Mike accepted the head coaching position with the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
, D'Antoni was hired as an assistant with the Knicks. On March 15, 2012, D'Antoni and fellow assistant coach
Phil Webber
Phil may refer to:
* Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names
* Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil"
* Phil, Kentucky, United States
* ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film
* -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root ter ...
stepped down after Mike resigned as Knicks head coach. On November 15, 2012 he became an assistant coach with the
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 ...
, also under his brother. In addition to being an assistant coach, D’Antoni also served as the head coach of the Knicks’ and Lakers’
NBA Summer League
The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...
teams.
Marshall
On April 24, 2014, D'Antoni was announced as the new head coach of Marshall University Thundering Herd men's basketball program, 43 years after he was an assistant with the Herd.
He led the Thundering Herd to the Conference USA tournament championship game in 2017, where they were defeated by
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...
, who earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. On March 10, 2018, he led Marshall back to the Conference USA championship game, this time defeating
Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state.
;Always included
* The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...
and earning an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. It was Marshall's first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1987.
On March 16, 2018, the 13th-seeded Herd defeated 4th-seeded
Wichita State
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
81–75 in Marshall's opening game of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. It was the team's first-ever win in the tournament. In Round 2, Marshall lost 94–71 to
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
, finishing the season with a 25–11 record.
In 2019, he led Marshall to the
CIT Championship.
Personal life
D'Antoni graduated from Marshall in 1970 with a degree in Speech and Physical Education and also earned a master's degree in Principles of Guidance from Marshall in 1972.
Dan D'Antoni
Herdzone.com. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
His father, Lewis, was a high school basketball coach in West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
and Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, and was inducted into West Virginia's Sports Hall of Fame in May 2004.[
D'Antoni is the father of three sons, all of whom played collegiate basketball: Matt played at ]Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
; Andrew attended Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and later served 3½ years in Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, rising to the rank of Major in the U.S. Army and is the current Executive Officer of the East Carolina University Army ROTC program; and Nick attended William & Mary, where he was captain of the basketball team. Dan and wife Vanessa are also parents of daughter Morgan.
Head coaching record
References
External links
NBA.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Antoni, Dan
1947 births
Living people
American men's basketball players
American people of Italian descent
Basketball coaches from West Virginia
Basketball players from West Virginia
High school basketball coaches in South Carolina
Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches
Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball coaches
Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball players
New York Knicks assistant coaches
People from Mullens, West Virginia
Phoenix Suns assistant coaches
Point guards