Lawrence Donald Casey (born June 17, 1937) is an American former professional and collegiate

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 ...

coach. He has coached two

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

(NBA) teams, the

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

and the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

—each for a season and a half. He had previously coached the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and mascot for Temple University since its founding in the 18 ...

from 1973 to 1982. He also worked as an assistant coach with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

(1982–83) and

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

(1990–1996). Casey grew up in

Collingswood, New Jersey Collingswood is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, located east of Center City Philadelphia. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 13,926,Camden Catholic High School Camden Catholic High School (CCHS) is a four-year comprehensive private coeducational Roman Catholic high school, located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area in Cherry Hill, Camden County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school operates ...

. As a young man in the 1960s, Casey coached at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in

Pennsauken Township, New Jersey Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 37,074, reflecting an increase of 1,189 (+3.3%) from the 35,885 count ...

, where he was recommended for a job as a JV coach by a friend and took over the varsity squad after the coach left the job. His coaching led to two state championships. Casey coached Bill Melchionni, a high school and college great who eventually played in the pros in the late 1960s with the ABA New York Nets and

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 his first season as Temple head coach, Don Casey had his team stall with the basketball in the finals of the Volunteer Classic against

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The final score of the game was Tennessee 11, Temple 6, the lowest scoring major college basketball game since 1938. Casey was promoted from assistant to head coach of the

on January 19, 1989, succeeding

Gene Shue Eugene William Shue (December 18, 1931 – April 3, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shue was one of the top guards of the early days of the NBA and an influential figure ...

after a 10–28 start to the 1988–89 season and in the midst of an eleven-game losing streak."Clippers Fire Shue, Name Casey,"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', Friday, May 22, 1987. Retrieved December 4, 2020 , Casey is the vice-chairman of the

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is an American government organization that aims to "promote, encourage and motivate Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sports". It is part of the ...

, and , Casey is the head coach of the

Hollywood Fame Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

's 21st century incarnation.

Head coaching record

College

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , style="text-align:left;", , 44, , 11, , 33, , , , align="center", 7th in Pacific, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 30, , 52, , , , align="center", 6th in Pacific, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , - , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 30, , 13, , 17, , , , align="center", 7th in Atlantic, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 31, , 51, , , , align="center", 6th in Atlantic, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , , , 238, , 85, , 153, , , , , , —, , —, , —, , —, ,

References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Don Casey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Don 1937 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Boston Celtics assistant coaches Camden Catholic High School alumni Chicago Bulls assistant coaches High school basketball coaches in New Jersey Los Angeles Clippers head coaches New Jersey Nets head coaches People from Collingswood, New Jersey Sportspeople from Camden County, New Jersey Temple Owls men's basketball coaches Victoria Libertas Pesaro coaches