George R. Blaney (born November 12, 1939) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and coach. Blaney played high school basketball at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. After playing basketball at the College of the Holy Cross during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the 6'1" Blaney spent one season with the New York Knicks of 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 St ...

. He served as the head basketball coach at Stonehill College from 1967 to 1969 and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

from 1969 to 1971. From 1972 to 1994, he served as head coach of Holy Cross, compiling a 357–276 overall record. He then became head coach at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

, where he led the team to the NIT twice before being fired following the 1996–97 season. In 2000, he began serving as an assistant head coach at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

. Blaney, while filling in for

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is a longtime college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( 1999, ...

, made he history at UConn on January 23, 2010 when UConn defeated the top–ranked of Texas Longhorns, 88–74. It marked the first time that an opponent had come to

Gampel Pavilion Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is a 10,167-seat multi-purpose arena in Storrs, Connecticut, United States, on the campus of the University of Connecticut (UConn). The arena opened on January 21, 1990, and is the largest on-campus arena in New England. ...

ranked first in the nation, and was subsequently the first time UConn ousted the nation's top team at home. Blaney also filled in for Calhoun for 11 games in the 2011–12 season. He is credited with the first three games of the 2011–12

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

season, when Calhoun sat out a conference-imposed suspension for recruiting violations. He also served as interim coach throughout February 2012, when Calhoun went on medical leave; those eight games, however, are credited to Calhoun. Blaney announced his retirement on June 13, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaney, George 1939 births Living people Allentown Jets players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from Jersey City, New Jersey Camden Bullets players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Dartmouth Big Green men's basketball coaches Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball coaches Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball players New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball coaches Shooting guards Sportspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey St. Peter's Preparatory School alumni Stonehill Skyhawks men's basketball coaches UConn Huskies men's basketball coaches