Jerry D. Hemmings (born February 17, 1948) is a former American

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 and former professional basketball player. He coached the

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...

men's basketball team to four CIAU National Championships. Hemmings is a member of the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame.

Career

Playing career

Hemmings played at North Surry High School in his native

Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,611. History Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem, North Carolina an ...

, graduating in 1966. He spent his college career at

Surry Community College Surry Community College is a public community college in Dobson, North Carolina. Founded in 1964, it is part of the North Carolina Community College System and services Surry and Yadkin Counties. Surry Community College offers thirty-six are ...

Dobson, North Carolina Dobson is a town in Dobson Township, Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,396. It is the county seat of Surry County. Dobson is the home of the Shelton Vineyards, the largest winery in No ...

and at

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, grad ...

Thunder Bay, Ontario Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

. In 1970, he was named Lakehead's Male Athlete of the Year. In his final season at Lakehead (1971–72), Hemmings earned WCIAA Great Plains First Team honors. In the 1972-73 season, he played professionally for Etoile de Voiron in France. He was inducted into the Lakehead Sports Wall of Fame as an athlete in 2001.

Coaching career

His career on the sidelines began in the 1973-74 season as assistant coach at Lakehead University. In 1974, he became head men's basketball coach at

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

and would remain in that position until 2003, compiling a record of 734 wins. During a sabbatical leave in 1983-84, he served as volunteer assistant coach at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

. Under his guidance the Brandon Bobcats won CIAU National Championships in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1996 and took silver medals in 1980, 2000 and 2001. He also coached the team to Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and one Canada West Championship in 2002. Hemmings was presented with the Stuart W. Aberdeen Memorial Trophy as CIAU Coach of the Year in 1980, while earning Great Plains Coach of the Year distinction in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1999, 2000 and 2001. In 2003-04, he served as head coach of

Al Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to: Sports Football Libya *Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier * Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...

of the Syrian elite league, in 2004-05, Hemmings coached the Mattersburg 49ers in the Austrian top-flight. In 2009, he accepted the position as head coach of

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...

in Cyprus. In 2007, Hemmings was inducted into the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame as a builder. In June 2014, Hemmings announced his retirement.

National team

Hemmings served as assistant coach of the Canadian Men's Basketball team from 1989 to 1994, including the World Championships in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. He guided Canada's squad to a silver medal at the 1991 World University Games.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemmings, Jerry Basketball coaches from North Carolina 1948 births People from Mount Airy, North Carolina Sportspeople from North Carolina Living people Lakehead Thunderwolves basketball players