Herman Frederick Kull (March 4, 1930 – September 16, 1998) was an American basketball coach. He served as

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...

in the

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 St ...

(NBA) and

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).

Biography

Kull was born on March 4, 1930, in Newark,

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 ...

. He attended

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

in Montclair, New Jersey and played on the men's basketball team for three seasons (1952–53, 1955–56, 1956–57). He played 31 games during his three seasons and averaged 4.5 points per game. Kull was the team's

in 1958. He was also on the school's football team and coached the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team in 1959. Kull coached high school basketball in

after college. In 1979, 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 ...

hired Kull as an assistant coach. He joined the coaching staff of 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 ...

as an assistant to

Stan Albeck Charles Stanley Albeck (May 17, 1931 – March 25, 2021) was an American professional basketball coach. Albeck coached for several teams in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), including the Denver ...

in 1983. Kull was hospitalized after suffering chest pains while jogging in 1984. In 1985, the Cleveland Cavaliers hired Kull as a scout. In February 1986, he was promoted to assistant coach after Mo McHone resigned. Posters given away as a promotion shortly after McHone's resignation featured Kull's head crudely affixed over McHone's body. Kull resigned his position with Cleveland in May 1986. Before the 1985–86 season, Kull was hired by the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach. He joined the coaching staff of the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

as an assistant to Jerry Reynolds in December 1988. On December 27, Reynolds collapsed during the fourth quarter of a game against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

while protesting a call. Kull served as head coach while Reynolds received medical attention. The following day, with Reynolds hospitalized, Kull served as head coach against 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), ...

. Reynolds wrote of Kull in his 2005 book ''Reynolds Remembers: 20 Years with the Sacramento Kings:'' In January 1991, the San Jose Jammers of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), hired Kull to replace interim head coach Gary Freitas, who took over for Cory Russell on December 6, 1990. During the 1991–92 season, Kull continued to coach the Jammers, who re-located to Bakersfield,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in the off-season. The team disbanded in January 1992 as a part of Jammers owner Dominic L. Cortese's

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debto ...

proceedings. On February 16, 1992, the Albany Patroons of the CBA fired their head coach

Charley Rosen Charles Elliot Rosen (born January 18, 1941) is an American author and former basketball player and basketball coach. Career The 6' 8" Rosen played college basketball at Hunter College in New York City for three seasons (1959–62), setting s ...

and replaced him with Kull, who finished the season with a 5–10 record.

Kevin Mackey Kevin Mackey (born August 21, 1946) is a former head coach of men's basketball at Cleveland State University. His CSU Vikings upset the Indiana Hoosiers and the Saint Joseph's Hawks to make the Sweet 16 in the 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketbal ...

replaced Kull the following season. In May 1993, Kull was hired by the CBA

Yakima Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings are a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Associat ...

. He coached the team to a 7–17 record before being replaced by Mo McHone. Kull died on September 16, 1998, in Morristown, New Jersey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kull, Herman 1930 births 1998 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Continental Basketball Association coaches Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Montclair State University alumni New Jersey Nets assistant coaches People from Morristown, New Jersey Sacramento Kings assistant coaches Sportspeople from Newark, New Jersey