Jerry Lee Sichting (born November 29, 1956) is an American

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 and retired player 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 S ...

(NBA).

High school career

Jerry Sichting, the ,

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

from

Martinsville, Indiana Martinsville is a city in Washington Township, Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 11,828 at the 2010 United States Census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County. History Martinsville was founded in 1822. It is ...

, attended Martinsville High School. In his junior year, he led the Artesians to an IHSAA Sectional title. He had an excellent senior season, leading his school to a 21–2 record and another IHSAA Sectional title; he averaged 21 points, while shooting 53 percent from the field and 83 percent at the line in three seasons. Chosen as a 1975 Indiana All-Star, the team toured

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. He also played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

at the

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

position, leading his team to an undefeated 10–0 season in 1974. He earned a total of 10 letters in basketball, football and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. On February 14, 2012, Sichting volunteered to be the interim coach for the Martinsville High School varsity boys' basketball team after head coach Timothy Wolf retired.

College career

After playing basketball at Martinsville High School under head coach Sam Alford, Jerry attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, located in

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister city, ...

, to play for head coach

Fred Schaus Frederick Appleton Schaus (June 30, 1925 – February 10, 2010) was an American basketball player, head coach and athletic director for the West Virginia University Mountaineers, player for the National Basketball Association's Fort Wayne Pisto ...

. In his freshman season, Jerry boasted a 54.5 field goal and 81.6

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

percentage. Playing under Lee Rose during his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

season and alongside All-American

Joe Barry Carroll Joe Barry Carroll (born July 24, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After retiring from basketball, he became a wealth advisor, philanthropist, artist, a ...

, he helped lead the

Boilermakers A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

to a

Big Ten Conference 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 ...

title tie with the

Earvin Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

-led

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

team. After losing the spot to be invited to the NCAA tournament, Sichting led the Boilers to an NIT Finals appearance, losing to in-state conference rival,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Named a First Team All-Big Ten selection his senior year, he currently holds the school career free-throw percentage record with a .867 accuracy. He also left Purdue with the school record for consecutive free throws made with 34, which was broken three decades later by

Robbie Hummel Robert John Hummel (born March 8, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player and current TV commentator. He played college basketball for Purdue University. He currently is a member of Princeton 3X3 on the FIBA 3x3 World Tour. On ...

's 36.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, 27 , , 0 , , 16.1 , , .545 , , - , , .816 , , 1.6 , , 2.3 , , - , , - , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 0 , , 19.1 , , .542 , , - , , .884 , , 1.3 , , 2.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 27 , , 46.4 , , .515 , , - , , .867 , , 3.2 , , 6.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 15.1 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 35 , , 34.3 , , .507 , , - , , .873 , , 2.8 , , 3.5 , , 1.9 , , 0.1 , , 13.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 117 , , 62 , , 28.4 , , .520 , , - , , .867 , , 2.2 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 10.5

Professional career

Indiana Pacers

Sichting was selected in the fourth round of the 1979 NBA draft by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, although he did not play a game for the Warriors; after being waived, he spent time as a member of the CBA's Maine Lumberjacks. He was signed for the

1980–81 NBA season The 1980–81 NBA season was the 35th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. As of 2022, this was the last t ...

by 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 esta ...

, after completing their free-agent training camp; he spent five seasons with the Pacers. His best season in his career came in 1983–84, where he averaged 11.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists a game, while holding a .532 field goal percentage.

Boston Celtics

After five seasons with the Pacers, Sichting was traded to the

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 ...

to start the 1985–86 season. Sichting and fellow

native

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

were the only two Celtics players that season to play in all 82 games. Sichting became a role player off the bench for the Celtics' 1986 NBA championship team. He is known for being involved in a fight with

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

center

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

during Game 5 of the

1986 NBA Finals The 1986 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1985–86 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Confere ...

, resulting in Sampson's ejection.

Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks

Sichting played on the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

during the 1988–89 season and then was traded to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

for his last full season. He retired in 1990 after playing one game 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 ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 47 , , - , , 9.6 , , .358 , , .000 , , .781 , , 0.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 51 , , 0 , , 15.7 , , .469 , , .111 , , .763 , , 1.1 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 4.2 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 58 , , 31.2 , , .478 , , .167 , , .860 , , 2.0 , , 5.6 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 9.3 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 80 , , 31.2 , , .532 , , .300 , , .867 , , 2.1 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 11.5 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 70 , , 25 , , 25.8 , , .521 , , .243 , , .875 , , 1.6 , , 3.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1985–86† , align="left" ,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 82 , , 7 , , 19.5 , , .570 , , .375 , , .924 , , 1.3 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 6.5 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 15 , , 20.1 , , .508 , , .269 , , .881 , , 1.2 , , 2.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 5.7 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 24 , , 1 , , 15.4 , , .537 , , .250 , , .667 , , 0.9 , , 2.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 28 , , 0 , , 11.6 , , .544 , , .571 , , .818 , , 0.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 25 , , 1 , , 15.6 , , .442 , , .250 , , .875 , , 1.2 , , 2.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, 34 , , 8 , , 13.8 , , .420 , , .250 , , .833 , , 0.6 , , 2.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , 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 ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 27.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .750 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 598 , , 195 , , 21.3 , , .507 , , .271 , , .857 , , 1.4 , , 3.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 6.9

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , - , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1985–86† , align="left" ,

, 18 , , 0 , , 15.2 , , .443 , , .000 , , .429 , , 0.9 , , 2.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 23* , , 4 , , 14.7 , , .427 , , .167 , , .800 , , 0.9 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 3.4 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .286 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 47 , , 4 , , 13.9 , , .418 , , .143 , , .647 , , 0.8 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.0

Broadcasting career

After Sichting retired, he returned to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, where he ran his Jerry Sichting Basketball Camp for five years and served as a Boston Celtics analyst on radio broadcasts. He also did broadcasts for pregame shows for his alma mater, Purdue University, and various Indiana high school games as well as a fill-in for

Bobby Leonard William Robert "Slick" Leonard (July 17, 1932April 13, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach and color commentator. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball, Indiana Hoosiers, where he was a t ...

on the Pacers' television broadcasts alongside Jerry Baker.

Coaching career

Minnesota Timberwolves

In 1995, Sichting became the

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 ...

' director of scouting and development. During that year he also became an assistant on the Wolves' bench, a position he held until the 2004–05 season. He returned to Minnesota as an assistant once again under head coach and former Celtics teammate Kevin McHale for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons.

Marquette

Jerry Sichting served as an assistant coach at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

, located in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. For the three seasons he assisted under head coach

Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to: *Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor *Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer *Tom Crean (basketball) Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...

, where he helped the

Golden Eagles The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Golden State Warriors

On September 27, 2010, Sichting was hired by the

as an assistant coach to

Keith Smart Jonathan Keith Smart (born September 21, 1964) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player. Playing career He is perhaps best remembered for hitting the game-winning shot in the 1987 NCAA championship game that gave the Indian ...

Martinsville High School

On February 14, 2012 Sichting was hired by the Martinsville High School Artesians as head coach of the boys' varsity team, after their coach abruptly resigned. His record as the Artesians head coach was 4–1, they finished their season with a loss in the IHSAA Sectional.

Washington Wizards

In August 2012, Sichting became an assistant coach with the

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 (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

Phoenix Suns

After a year of being an assistant coach for the Wizards, Sichting decided to be an assistant coach for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

under their newest head coach,

Jeff Hornacek Jeffrey John Hornacek (; born May 3, 1963) is an American professional basketball coach and a former player who is a coaching consultant for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously was the head coach for both the ...

. He was also joined under the job by Mike Longabardi,

Kenny Gattison Kenneth Clay Gattison (born May 23, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player and National Basketball Association (NBA) assistant coach. College career Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Gattison was a four-year lettermen at Old ...

, and Mark West during their first two seasons.

New York Knicks

After waiting for close to nine months since being fired from the Suns midway through the 2015–16 season, Sichting would reunite with coach

on his new coaching staff with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

, which includes former Knicks head coach

Kurt Rambis Darrell Kurt Rambis (born February 25, 1958) is a Greek-American former professional basketball player and coach who is a senior basketball adviser for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won fou ...

Corey Gaines Corey Yasuto Gaines (born June 1, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played five seasons in the NBA, and was a four-time Israeli Basketball Premier League Statistical Leaders#Assists leaders, Israeli Premier L ...

(another assistant coach from the Suns he used to work with),

Howard Eisley Howard Jonathan Eisley (born December 4, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. Born in Detroit, Eisley played college basketball at Boston College and was drafted in 1994 by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Eisl ...

, and

Joshua Longstaff Joshua Longstaff (born August 6, 1982) is an American basketball coach. He is an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association. He was previously the head coach of the Erie BayHawks, and an assistant coach with the ...

Return to Minnesota Timberwolves

On January 18, 2019, the Timberwolves hired Sichting as their assistant coach.

Personal life

Sichting is a member of the Beta Mu Chapter of the

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

fraternity at

. Everyone in Sichting's family has a name starting with the letter J, including Jerry himself, his wife Joni, his three sons Jared, Jason and Jordan and his daughter Jenna. His son Jared was a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

on the

basketball team that reached the Final Four in 2003.Sichting's wonderful life
posted February 7, 2003

References

External links

@ basketballreference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sichting, Jerry 1956 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Boston Celtics announcers Boston Celtics players Charlotte Hornets players Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Golden State Warriors draft picks Indiana Pacers announcers Indiana Pacers players Milwaukee Bucks players Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches New York Knicks assistant coaches Phoenix Suns assistant coaches People from Martinsville, Indiana Point guards Portland Trail Blazers players Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players