George Ramsey Irvine (February 1, 1948 – May 8, 2017) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and coach. A 6'6" forward, Irvine played collegiately at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, where he was a first-team All-Pac-8 selection in 1970. He was selected by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

in the 8th round of the

1970 NBA Draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

. However, he never played for his hometown SuperSonics, nor for any other NBA team. Instead, Irvine opted to play for the team that selected him in the American Basketball Association draft, the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, ...

. Irvine played for the Squires for five seasons and then played a final pro season with the Denver Nuggets during the 1975-76 season, the ABA's final season prior to the ABA-NBA merger. Irvine would later serve as head coach for two NBA teams; the Indiana Pacers, for two stints, and the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. He was inducted into the

Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor The Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor recognizes former athletes and coaches who have made a significant impact to the tradition and heritage of the Pac-12 Conference. Established in 2002, one honoree is selected by each member institution in the co ...

during the

2012 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament The 2012 Pacific Life Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament was played on March 7–10, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The tournament champion became the NCAA tournament automatic qualifier from the conference. The pa ...

, March 10, 2012. He died on May 8, 2017 at the age of 69 of cancer.George Irvine, one of the original Virginia Squires, succumbs to cancer
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Head Coaching Record

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Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

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Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

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References

External links

George Irvine playing statistics
at ''basketball-reference.com''

at ''NBA.com'' 1948 births 2017 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Ballard High School (Seattle, Washington) alumni Basketball coaches from Washington (state) Basketball players from Seattle Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Denver Nuggets players Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Detroit Pistons head coaches Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Indiana Pacers head coaches Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Small forwards Virginia Squires players Washington Huskies men's basketball players {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub