Larry Brett Krystkowiak ( ; born September 23, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player, and former head coach of the

Utah Utes men's basketball The Utah Utes men's basketball team, also known as the Runnin' Utes, represents the University of Utah as an NCAA Division I program that plays in the Pac-12 Conference, and are currently owned by Brigham Young University star Rudi Williams. They ...

team.BasketballReference entry
/ref>

Early life

He was born in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

, to Bernard and Helen Krystkowiak.sltrib.com
/ref> At a young age, his mother always encouraged Larry to participate in sports.si.com He Has Taken Some Tough Shots
/ref> His mother died of

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

when he was eight years oldBasketball Times. Vol. 34. No.1. Sept 2011.
/ref> and his father remarried. He primarily grew up in

Shelby, Montana Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Toole County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,169 at the 2020 census. History Shelby was named in honor of Peter O. Shelby, General Manager of the Montana Central Railway. A railroad st ...

, and his step-mother did not approve of Larry playing sports. At the age of 15, Larry moved out of Shelby and finished his high school career at

Big Sky High School Big Sky High School is an American public high school in Missoula, Montana, United States, opened in 1980. The school made Missoula the first city in Montana to have four secondary schools. It is a part of the Missoula County Public Schools. Extr ...

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

. During this time he lived with his older brother Bernie, who became Larry's legal guardian.

College career

Krystkowiak played college basketball for the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

from 1982 to 1986 and still holds the school records for career points scored (2,017) and rebounds (1,105). He is the only person to have been named

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

MVP three times (1984–1986).Missoulian.com
/ref> Krystkowiak's jersey number was retired by the University of Montana.

Professional playing career

Krystkowiak was selected by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

in the second round (28th overall pick) of the 1986 NBA draft. He played power forward for nine seasons in the NBA, spending the bulk of his career with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. He also played for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

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), ...

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

and

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. In the 1988–89 season he averaged 12.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and over 30 minutes per game for the Bucks. Over his NBA career, he averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, 68 , , 2 , , 14.8 , , .456 , , .083 , , .743 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 50 , , 7 , , 21.0 , , .481 , , .000 , , .811 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 77 , , 30.9 , , .473 , , .333 , , .823 , , 7.6 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 12.7 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , 7 , , 23.8 , , .364 , , .000 , , .788 , , 4.8 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 79 , , 16 , , 23.4 , , .444 , , .000 , , .757 , , 5.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, 71 , , 0 , , 19.2 , , .466 , , .000 , , .796 , , 3.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, 34 , , 11 , , 20.1 , , .480 , , .000 , , .795 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 5.1 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 19 , , 14 , , 15.1 , , .389 , , .000 , , .900 , , 3.1 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 4.4 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 3.7 , , .500 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 420 , , 134 , , 21.7 , , .457 , , .139 , , .795 , , 4.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 8.2

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 32.6 , , .448 , , .000 , , .889 , , 6.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 29.9 , , .426 , , .000 , , .871 , , 5.6 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 10.6 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 8.3 , , .167 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 30.7 , , .389 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 8.3 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 20 , , 16 , , 26.4 , , .410 , , .000 , , .887 , , 5.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 7.4

Coaching career

Early career

Krystkowiak began his coaching career in 1998 as an assistant to Don Holst at his alma mater, the

. He coached at Montana until 2000 when he left to join

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

as an assistant under former Griz head coach,

Blaine Taylor Blaine Taylor (born January 14, 1958) is a former American college basketball coach most well known for being the head coach of the Old Dominion Monarchs basketball, Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team from 2001 until 2013. Taylor pla ...

. He spent one season (2001–2002) at Old Dominion. Krystkowiak got his first opportunity as a head coach with the CBA's

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

in 2003–04. In his single season as the Stampede's head coach, he led the team to a 37–16 record and a CBA championship game berth. He was hired as head men's basketball coach at the

in May 2004. He led the Griz to a 42–20 overall record over the course of the next two seasons, reaching the NCAA tournament each year as a result of winning the

tourney. In 2006 the Grizzlies beat heavily favored, fifth seed,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, in the NCAA tournament.

NBA coaching career

In June 2006 Krystkowiak left Montana to take a job as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks under

Terry Stotts Terry Linn Stotts (born November 25, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a playing as a f ...

. Krystkowiak was responsible for working with Milwaukee's big men, notably second year players

Andrew Bogut Andrew Michael Bogut (born 28 November 1984) is an Australian former basketball player who spent the majority of his professional career playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The tall center was selected by the Milwaukee Buck ...

and

Charlie Villanueva Charlie Alexander Villanueva Mejia (born August 24, 1984) is a Dominican-American former professional basketball player who played for the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Associat ...

. He was named head coach of the team on March 14, 2007, after Stotts was fired. Stotts had led the Bucks to a 23–41 record during the 2006–07 season. He signed a reported 4-year contract with the Bucks, with an average annual salary of $2 million Krystkowiak's NBA head coaching debut on March 15, 2007, resulted in a 101–90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. On April 17, 2008, Krystkowiak was fired as Milwaukee Bucks head coach after a disappointing season in which the Bucks compiled the league's sixth worst record. In July 2010 Krystkowiak joined 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, ...

coaching staff alongside

Avery Johnson Avery DeWitt Johnson (born March 25, 1965) is an American basketball television commentator and former player and coach who most recently served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He is currently an NBA and college ...

and Sam Mitchell.

University of Utah

On April 3, 2011, it was announced that Krystkowiak would take over the head coaching position for the University of Utah men's basketball team, as they transitioned into Utah's first season in the newly realigned Pac-12. After Krystkowiak was named Utah's head coach, eight players left the program to play elsewhere and he was forced to bring in several junior college and walk-on players to fill his depleted roster. In a season where starting center David Foster missed the entire season and starting point guard Josh "Jiggy" Watkins was dismissed halfway through, Krystkowiak and the Utes struggled to a 6-25 finish, including only three wins against their new Pac-12 opponents. The 2012–2013 season showed much improvement for Krystkowiak's Utes. The additions of freshmen Jordan Loveridge and Brandon Taylor, as well as great play and leadership from senior center Jason Washburn, would help Utah more than double their win total from the previous season. On March 9, 2013, Utah closed out its season by defeating No. 19 Oregon, celebrating Senior Night at the Huntsman Center with the program's first victory over a ranked opponent since 2009. Utah then defeated USC and California in the first and second rounds of the Pac-12 tournament before losing a rematch with Oregon, the eventual champion. Krystkowiak's third season saw the 2013–2014 Runnin' Utes reach their first postseason tournament under the coach. The addition of transfer point guard Delon Wright and an improved core of players led Utah to a 21-12 record, receiving an at-large bid to the NIT. The next year, he led his team to the sweet sixteen, their highest run in the tournament in years. In 2017–18, he led the Utes to their first NIT finals appearance in 44 years. The

National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field o ...

nominated Krystkowiak for its Class of 2013. On June 21, 2018 Krystkowiak was enshrined into the

as a member of the Class of 2018 in Troy, Michigan. On March 16, 2021 Larry was fired by the University of Utah.

Personal life

Larry and his wife, Jan, have five children, Cam, Luc, Ben and twin girls Sam and Fin. He has seen his father only once in over 30 years, because of the issues in his early life.

Head coaching record

Larry Krystkowiak's record as a head coach.

CBA

College

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 18, , 5, , 13, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Central, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 26, , 56, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Central, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , , , 100, , 31, , 69, , , , , , —, , —, , —, , —

References

External links

NBA stats
@ Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Krystkowiak, Larry 1964 births Living people Basketball coaches from Montana American expatriate basketball people in France American men's basketball players American people of Polish descent Basketball players from Montana Chicago Bulls draft picks Chicago Bulls players Idaho Stampede (CBA) coaches Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Levallois Sporting Club Basket players Los Angeles Lakers players Milwaukee Bucks head coaches Milwaukee Bucks players Montana Grizzlies basketball coaches Montana Grizzlies basketball players New Jersey Nets assistant coaches Orlando Magic players People from Shelby, Montana Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Missoula, Montana Utah Jazz players Utah Utes men's basketball coaches