Randy Scott Wittman (born October 28, 1959) is an American former

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 at the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

position and former coach of the NBA's

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

, and

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

Playing career

High school

Wittman starred for

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Ben Davis High School Ben Davis High School (BDHS) is a three-year high school in Indianapolis, Indiana. History Ben Davis was first established in 1892. The current school building was constructed in 1965. The school underwent extensive construction and renovation fr ...

from 1975–1978. He averaged more than 23 points a game for Ben Davis, which remains the second-highest average at the school, and became one of the nation's top recruits. In 1978 he was second to

Brad Leaf Brad Leaf ( he, ברד ליף; born May 17, 1960) is an American-Israeli basketball coach and former player. He played 17 years of professional basketball in Israel, first for Hapoel Galil Elyon and later for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israel Premie ...

of all

Marion County, Indiana Marion County is located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 United States census reported a population of 977,203, making it the largest county in the state and 51st most populated county in the country. Indianapolis is the county seat, th ...

, scorers.

College

The 6'6" Wittman played

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 ...

from 1979–1983 for

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

and the Indiana University Hoosiers. The 1979–80 Hoosiers, led by

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for '' NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Gr ...

, won the Big Ten championship and advanced to the 1980 Sweet Sixteen. The following season, in 1980–81, the Hoosiers once again won a conference title and advanced to the NCAA Championship, beating the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Hoosiers trailed the entire first half of the game until Wittman scored at the halftime buzzer with a deep corner shot. The Hoosiers went on to win the game by a 63-50 tally, making the 1981 NCAA tournament the school's fourth national title. In 1982–1983, with the leadership of Wittman, the No. 1 ranked Hoosiers were favorites to win another national championship. However, with an injury to star player Ted Kitchel mid-season, the Hoosiers' prospects were grim. Knight asked for fan support to rally around the team and, despite long odds, the team ultimately won the Big Ten title. Nevertheless, in the tournament Kitchel's absence was felt and the team lost to Kentucky in the 1983 Sweet Sixteen. Wittman was named the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Player of the Year and a consensus second team All-American in 1983. He became a member of Indiana's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

and was named to Indiana's Silver Anniversary Basketball Team, in March 1996.

Professional

Wittman was selected by the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

with the 22nd pick of the 1983 NBA draft. However, he never played for the Bullets with his rights being traded to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. Wittman spent the early portion of his career with the Hawks, sharing backcourt with Glenn "Doc" Rivers and Anthony "Spud" Webb, and starting most of the games from 1985–88 (while averaging 12 points and 3.5 assists in those years combined). After a small spell with 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 ...

, he became a fringe player with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

, retiring in 1991–92 after three unassuming years. For his career, Wittman averaged 7.4 points, 1.1

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and 2.2 assists per game, shooting just over 50% from the field.

Coaching career

In 1992, Wittman began his NBA coaching career as an assistant coach, first with the Pacers. He spent one season in Indianapolis and another with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

(and later with the

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 ...

). Subsequently, Wittman spent from 1994–99 with the

, in the same capacity. During that period, he helped in the development of Wolves' star forward

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed KG by his initials, and the "Big Ticket" for his emphatic dunki ...

. Wittman then served as head coach of the

for two seasons, (1999–2001), compiling a record of 62-102. On January 23, 2007, Wittman became the head coach of the Timberwolves, succeeding Dwane Casey; he had already started the season as assistant to the former. On December 8, 2008, club owner Glen Taylor fired Wittman after a 4-19 start, asking Kevin McHale to step in, in a complete change of the organization's structure, as the former

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

great had been Minnesota's vice-president of basketball operations since 1995. Wittman became acting head coach of the Washington Wizards, accepting the position after

Flip Saunders Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders (February 23, 1955 – October 25, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. High sch ...

was fired in January 2012 for a 2-15 start. On June 4, 2012, the Wizards announced that Wittman would be retained as the official head coach of the team for the 2012–2013 season. The Wizards improved from 29-53 to 44-38 during the 2013–14 season, which included advancing to the second round of the playoffs for just the third time since 1979 before losing to the Indiana Pacers in six games. The Wizards had a 5-1 record in away games during both series, but were unable to win a home game in the second round. Wittman was praised for his strategy and leadership throughout the playoffs by both players and management alike. Wittman signed an extension to remain head coach of the Wizards on June 3, 2014. The Wizards fired Wittman on April 13, 2016 after the team missed the playoffs.

Personal life

His son

Ryan Wittman Ryan Scott Wittman (born October 26, 1987) is a former American basketball player, best known for his college career at Cornell University. Early life and high school career Wittman was born on October 26, 1987, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son ...

starred for the

Cornell Big Red The Cornell Big Red is the informal name of the sports teams, and other competitive teams, that represent Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York. The university sponsors 37 varsity sports, as well as numerous intramural and club tea ...

basketball team; he helped lead the Big Red to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years during the 2007–08 season, again in 2009, and to Cornell's first-ever NCAA basketball tournament victories in 2010 over the Temple Owls and Wisconsin Badgers as the Big Red made its first-ever trip to the NCAA Men's Sweet 16.

Head coaching record

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

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References

External links

BasketballReference stats

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittman, Randy 1959 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indianapolis Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Indiana Pacers players Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches Minnesota Timberwolves head coaches Orlando Magic assistant coaches Sacramento Kings players Shooting guards Washington Bullets draft picks Washington Wizards assistant coaches Washington Wizards head coaches