Herb Magee (born June 20, 1941), commonly referred to as the Shot Doctor, is an American former men's college

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, who coached for 54 seasons at

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

. The school was established in its current form when Philadelphia University, Magee's alma mater, merged with the original Thomas Jefferson University in 2017. The former Philadelphia University was known as Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science and athletically branded as "Philadelphia Textile" when Magee first became head coach in 1967, becoming Philadelphia University in 1999. He has spent 54 years as head coach, and 62 years as either a player or coach at the school as of 2021. In 2015, he achieved his 1,000th win as a head coach, becoming one of only four college coaches to achieve that milestone. On August 12, 2011, Magee was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

Career

Playing

Magee, an

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

, played his high school basketball at Philadelphia's famed West Catholic High, where his teammates included former Philadelphia 76ers head coach

Jim Lynam James Francis Lynam (born September 15, 1941) is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He coached at the college level for Fairfield University from 1968 to 1970, American University from 1973 to 1978, and St. Joseph's Unive ...

and former St. Joseph's coach Jim Boyle. As a five-foot-ten inch, 150-pound player for the Philadelphia Rams, Magee scored 2,235 points (before the introduction of the 3-point shot), leading his team to 75 victories. Magee was a two-time All-American and drafted by the

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 ...

(the 62nd pick of the 1963 NBA draft). However, he broke his fingers before training camp, and opted instead to return to his alma mater as an assistant coach under Buckey Harris. When Harris retired in 1967, Magee became head coach at the age of 25. He has spent his entire adult life at the

East Falls East Falls (also The Falls, formerly the Falls of Schuylkill) is a neighborhood in the Northwest section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It lies on the east bank of the "Falls of the Schuylkill," cataracts submerged in 1 ...

school as either a player, assistant coach, or head coach.

Accomplishments

Magee has earned many awards during his coaching career. The Kodak District Coach of the Year in 1993, Magee was also tabbed New York Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year that season and again in 1994. In addition, he has been honored as regional Coach of the Year four times, national Coach of the Year twice, and Co-Coach of the Year in the Mideast Collegiate Conference twice. He was also inducted into the

Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (PSHF) is a nonprofit organization established in 1962.Home page
Pennsylvania Sports Hall o ...

in 1979. He led the Rams to the College Division National Championship in 1970. Coach Magee was inducted into the

Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was established in May 2002 to honor individuals and groups who are either area natives who became prominent in the field of sports or who became ...

(2008), Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (1979), Philadelphia University and West Catholic High School Halls of Fame, and honored by numerous organizations throughout his career. He coached the Olympic Festive team along with John Calipari and was co-coach of the Year in the Mideast Collegiate Conference (twice). The NABC honored him with the Guardian of the Game Award. Coach Magee was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters by President Stephen Spinelli Jr. at Philadelphia University's 125th Commencement on May 17, 2009 in recognition of his accomplishments and years of dedication and service. Known as "shot Doctor" because of his ability to teach basketball shot-making through unforgettable clinics held thousands of times during his career. In one such clinic, he parked his car, entered onto the court and without any warmup, hit 25 in a row from the top of the key. Magee received a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Philadelphia University in 1963 and a Master's in Education from

St. Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

in 1969. On September 7, 2021, Magee announced that he would retire following the 2021-22 season.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Magee has been married twice and has two daughters.

References

;General * * ;Footnotes

External links

*
Jefferson profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Herb 1941 births Living people American men's basketball players American people of Irish descent Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Boston Celtics draft picks College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Philadelphia Rams men's basketball coaches Philadelphia Rams men's basketball players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Saint Joseph's University alumni