John Raymond Scott (born July 12, 1938) is an American former professional

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.

Playing career

A 6'9"

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who 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 ...

at the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

, Scott was selected with the fourth pick of the

1961 NBA Draft The 1961 NBA draft was the 15th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 27, 1961, before the 1961–62 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball playe ...

by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

, and was a deadly shooter near the perimeter of the court. Scott had an 11-year career in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) and 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), with the Pistons, Baltimore Bullets, and

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

Coaching career

Scott was promoted from assistant to head coach of the Pistons on October 28, 1972, succeeding

Earl Lloyd Earl Francis Lloyd (April 3, 1928 – February 26, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was the first African American player to play a game in the National Basketball Association (NBA). An All–American player at W ...

after a 2–5 start. Under his direction, the ballclub went 38–37 for the remainder of the 1972–73 campaign. He received the

NBA Coach of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who le ...

and become the first black man to win NBA coach of the year after guiding the Pistons to a then-franchise-best 52–30 regular season record in 1973–74. The team slumped to 40–42 in 1974–75. He was dismissed and replaced by assistant

Herb Brown Herbert Brown (born March 14, 1936) is an American basketball coach and the brother of Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. He is the former head coach of the Detroit Pistons (1976–78). Career Brown succeeded Ray Scott when he was promoted from a ...

with the Pistons at 17–25 on January 26, 1976. He was appointed men's basketball head coach at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

just over six weeks later on March 10, 1976.Eshenroder, Owen. "Away from the Pros, Ray Scott Finds Happiness on EMU Campus," ''Focus EMU'' (Eastern Michigan University), November 22, 1976.
Retrieved December 3, 2020 Over three seasons, he guided EMU to a 29–52 record. Eastern Michigan fired Scott in March 1979.

Personal

After his coaching career, Scott went into private business. He also has held the position of ambassador for children and families for the Wellspring Lutheran service agency in Michigan.
/ref> In February 2008, Scott was inducted into the

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...

. In April 2008, during a celebration of the Pistons' 50th anniversary, he was named one of the "30 All-Time Pistons". In November 2017, Scott was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Ray 1938 births Living people Allentown Jets players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Buffalo Braves expansion draft picks Centers (basketball) Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons head coaches Detroit Pistons players Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball coaches Portland Pilots men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Virginia Squires players Basketball players from Philadelphia Sportspeople from Philadelphia West Philadelphia High School alumni