John Francis Dee, Jr. (September 12, 1923 – April 24, 1999) was head
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
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
at the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
from 1953 to 1956
and the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
from
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
to
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Dee had a coaching record of 68–25 in his time at Alabama. In 1956, the
Crimson Tide stunned
Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...
's
Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...
with a 101–77 win with a team nicknamed the "Rocket 8".
Jerry Harper
Jerry "Moose" Harper (August 4, 1934 – September 16, 2001) was an American basketball player best known for his collegiate career at the University of Alabama between 1952 and 1956. Harper, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, was and played the ...
was Dee's best player during his tenure at Alabama. The 1955–1956 team finished 21–3 overall and 14–0 in the
SEC and attained the Tide's highest ranking ever at #4. However, due to all five starters having played as freshmen, they were all ruled as ineligible and the team was banned from participating in the
1956 NCAA basketball tournament
The 1956 NCAA basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA college basketball. It began on March 12, 1956, and ended with the championship game on March 24 on North ...
. The team would subsequently not become eligible for the NCAA tournament again until
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, when the NCAA began allowing two teams from each conference in the tournament
NIBL
Dee Coached the Denver-Chicago Truckers of the AAU
National Industrial Basketball League
The National Industrial Basketball League was founded in 1947 to enable U.S. mill workers a chance to compete in basketball. The league was founded by the industrial teams (teams sponsored by the large companies and made up of their employees) be ...
from 1956–1961.
Notre Dame
During Dee's seven seasons at the helm of Notre Dame Basketball (1964–1971), he compiled a record of 116 wins and 80 losses. Dee led the Fighting Irish to four NCAA tournament appearances and one berth in the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...
. Dee culminated his coaching career at Notre Dame with four straight 20-win seasons, at the time the longest such streak in school history.
[ ]
Personal
Dee was also an attorney who, following his career coaching at Notre Dame returned to his practice in Denver where he concentrated in Oil and Gas transactions.
References
1923 births
1999 deaths
Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches
Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball coaches
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players
Players of American football from Des Moines, Iowa
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball coaches
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Des Moines, Iowa
{{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub