Jerry Steele (March 10, 1939 – July 11, 2021) was an 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 ...
player and coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head men's basketball coach at
Guilford College
Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...
in
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
from 1962 to 1970 and
High Point University
High Point University is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in October 1991. HPU of ...
in
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...
from 1972 to 2003, compiling a career
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
coaching record of 609–486. Steele was also the head coach of the
Carolina Cougars
The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...
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, ...
(ABA) for half of one season, 1970–71, tallying a mark of 17–25.
Early life and playing career
A native of
Elkin, North Carolina
Elkin is a town in Surry and Wilkes counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, along the Yadkin River. Elkin shares its name with the surrounding township of Elkin Township. The population was 4,083 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Elkin is ...
, he played basketball at
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...
from 1958 to 1961 and in two of those years he was a member of the
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
All-Academic team. After graduating from Wake Forest, Steele earned his master's degree from
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
.
Coaching career
Guilford
Steele took over as the men's basketball coach at
Guilford College
Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...
in 1962. His first season with the Quakers, he finished with a 5–20 record. Steele then led the Quakers to two conference titles, four district championships, and four trips to the NAIA Tournament. During the 1969–70 season, the Quakers won 29 straight games, finishing 32–4 and fourth in the nation.
Carolina Cougars
In 1970 Steele joined the
Carolina Cougars
The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...
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, ...
(ABA) as an assistant coach under
Bones McKinney
Horace Albert "Bones" McKinney (January 1, 1919 – May 16, 1997) was an American professional basketball player and coach.
A 6'6" small forward who played at both North Carolina State University (2 seasons) and the University of North Carolina (1 ...
. In November 1970, after the Cougars started the season with a record of 17–25, McKinney was dismissed and Steele was promoted to head coach. Steele's record for the remainder of the season matched that of McKinney: 17–25. The Cougars finished the 1970–71 season with an overall record of 34–50, placing sixth in the ABA's Eastern Division and missing the playoffs. After season concluded, Steele moved on to become director of player personnel for the Cougars and was replaced as head coach by
Tom Meschery
Thomas Nicholas Meschery ( ; born Tomislav Nikolayevich Meshcheryakov (russian: Томислав Николаевич Мещеряков); October 26, 1938) .
High Point
In 1972, Steele became the head coach at
High Point University
High Point University is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in October 1991. HPU of ...
. Among his early players was current High Point head coach
Tubby Smith
Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951) is an American college basketball coach. He was the men's basketball coach at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the Univers ...
. Steele coached at High Point for 32 years, from 1972 to 2003. During his tenure, High Point won eight conference titles, made one appearance in the
NAIA Men's Basketball Championships
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics men's basketball national championship has been held annually since 1937 (with the exception of 1944 and 2020). The tournament was established by James Naismith to crown a national champion for ...
, and earned two trips to the
NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament (officially styled by the NCAA as a "Championship" instead of a "Tournament") is an annual championship tournament for colleges and universities that are members of NCAA Division II, a grouping of ...
. His record at High Point was 457–412. He also served as athletic director at High Point for 21 years, from 1978 to 1999. Steele retired after the end of the 2002–03 season.
Personal life
Steele was elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2002 Steele was inducted into the North
Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. In 2005 Steele was inducted into the
Guilford County, North Carolina
Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population is 541,299, making it the third-most populous county in North Carolina. The county seat, and largest municipality, is Greensboro. Si ...
Sports Hall of Fame. In 2007, the Steele Sports Center was opened on the campus of High Point University, named after the Panthers' prolific coach and his wife, Kitty Steele, who was also a coach at High Point. This facility houses locker rooms, offices and training facilities for 11 of High Point's 16 varsity sports. The men's and women's basketball teams are those excluded from this facility, due to the large amount of office space required for the two revenue-earning sports, as well as the former athletic administration's offices' proximity to the varsity basketball arena floor and locker rooms, which the basketball coaches moved into in April 2007.
He died on July 11, 2021.
Head coaching record
College
ABA
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See also
*
List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins
This is a list of college men's basketball coaches by number of career wins across all three divisions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the two divisions of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The Natio ...
References
North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Jerry
1939 births
2021 deaths
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from North Carolina
Basketball players from North Carolina
Carolina Cougars coaches
Guilford Quakers men's basketball coaches
High Point Panthers athletic directors
High Point Panthers men's basketball coaches
Palestine national basketball team managers
People from Elkin, North Carolina
Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players