John P. Killilea (June 19, 1928 – January 27, 1996) was 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

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. He served as the

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hung ...

to four

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA) team; 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 ...

(1972–77), 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 196 ...

(1977–1983), 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 ...

(1983–85), the

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 ...

(1989–1993). Killilea was hired by the

Topeka Sizzlers The Topeka Sizzlers, originally the Kansas City Sizzlers, were a professional basketball team based in Kansas City, Missouri from 1985 to 1986 until they relocated to Topeka, Kansas where they played from 1986 to 1990. The Sizzlers were members of ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

(CBA) as their

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

in 1986 and served in that capacity until he was fired in January 1988 after being called for 15

technical fouls In basketball, a technical foul (colloquially known as a "T" or a "tech") is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a ...

and ejected from three games.

Early life

Killilea graduated from Quincy High School in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 101,636, making ...

in 1945. Following his graduation, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Infantry Branch. Killilea enrolled at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

in 1948. He was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the freshman basketball team. In 1949, Killilea was diagnosed with bulbar polio. During his hospital stay, which was paid in full by the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comb ...

, he was quarantined for 14 days. Upon his release from the hospital, Killilea was medically cleared to try out for the varsity Boston University basketball team. He made the team and came off the bench for the first two games of the season, but was inserted into the

starting lineup In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are ''substitutes'' ...

for the remainder of the season. In 1952, Killilea graduated from Boston University with a degree in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

Coaching career

Killilea's first basketball coaching job was at Pemetic High School in

Southwest Harbor, Maine Southwest Harbor is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. Located on Mount Desert Island, the population was 1,756 at the 2020 census. The municipality contains within it the villages of Southwest Harbor, Manset, Seawall, Wonderland, ...

in 1952. The following year, he coached the team to the Eastern Maine Basketball Championship. Killilea was head coach of the

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and Silver Lake high school basketball teams. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in 1976. His combined high school head coaching record was 314–90. Killilea was the first person in the Boston Celtics organization to scout

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 ...

. According to Killilea, Bird was "the best passing forward since

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

." In 1977,

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

was hired as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Nelson at first suggested his former assistant coach with the Celtics, John Killilea, for the job. When the Bucks insisted they wanted Nelson at the head coach position he brought Killilea on as his assistant.

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...

reporter Michael V. Uschan wrote an article on March 20, 1981, titled "Nelson matures as Bucks coach". It noted that, "Nelson depends on Killilea more than most other NBA coaches depend on their assistants". Killilea's salary with the Bucks was reportedly an annual salary of $60,000 to $70,000, a figure he claimed was comparable to an NBA head coaching salary. Killilea resigned his position with Milwaukee at the conclusion of the 1983 season. He attended the Milwaukee Pen and Mike Club luncheon in 1984 and was quoted as saying, "There was no love lost between myself and the Milwaukee basketball team. ..I guess we

elson Elson is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Andrea Elson (born 1969), actress * Anita Elson (1898–1985), American dancer and singer * Bob Elson (1904–1981), sportscaster * David Elson, coach * D ...

didn't get along." Bucks owner

Jim Fitzgerald James Francis Fitzgerald (March 27, 1926 – June 4, 2012) was an American businessman and former professional sports owner, best known as a former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors, both NBA teams. Early life Fitzger ...

released a statement in March 1984 which read in part, "The Bucks offered John Killilea more loyalty, support and patience up front and behind the scenes than John Killilea will ever know. Don Nelson supported John in every possible way, but in several instances was repaid with disheartening lack of loyalty." Before the 1983–84 season, Killilea joined the

as an assistant coach under Stan Albeck. After the season a ''

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'' report cited several anonymous Nets players who blamed their poor performance on an ongoing feud between Killilea and assistant coach

Herman Kull Herman Frederick Kull (March 4, 1930 – September 16, 1998) was an American basketball coach. He served as assistant coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and head coach in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). Biography Kul ...

. Nets' owner Joe Taub and head coach Stan Albeck approached the ''Post'' reporter, Steve Baronfeld, telling him that Kull suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

after reading the story. The ''Post'' responded by pulling their reporters from the Nets'

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

. An August 1983 United Press International report described Killilea as, "one of the most defense-minded coaches in the BA" Killilea was hired as the head coach for the

of the

(CBA) in July 1986. His combined

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with Topeka was 39–45. Killilea was fired in January 1988 and replaced by his assistant coach, John Darr. Killilea coached Topeka to a 13–17 record during the 1987–88 season and was called for 15

technical foul In basketball, a technical foul (colloquially known as a "T" or a "tech") is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a ...

s. Killilea died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...

while boarding a flight in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

References

External links

John Killilea Coaching Statistics
at Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Killilea, John 1928 births 1996 deaths Boston Celtics assistant coaches Boston University Terriers men's basketball players Continental Basketball Association coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Houston Rockets assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches New Jersey Nets assistant coaches Sportspeople from Quincy, Massachusetts American men's basketball players United States Army soldiers