Randy Scott Wittman (born October 28, 1959) 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 (appro ...

player at the guard 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

, 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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

Playing career

High school

Wittman starred for

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Ben Davis High School from 1975 to 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 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 54th-most populous county in the U.S., the most populous county in the state, and the main population center ...

, scorers.

College

The 6'6" Wittman played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

from 1979 to 1983 for

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

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

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III ( ; born April 30, 1961), also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player who is head coach of the Saginaw Soul of the Basketball Super League, and also an analyst for NBA TV and Fox Sports. H ...

, 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 Player of the Year and a consensus second team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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 Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. 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 to 1988 (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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

, 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, retiring in 1991–92 after three unassuming years. For his career, Wittman averaged 7.4 points, 1.1 rebounds 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

(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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

). Subsequently, Wittman spent from 1994 to 1999 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 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Ticket," Garnett is considered one of the greatest power f ...

. 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

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 schoo ...

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. On September 18, 2017, Wittman was hired by the

as a coaching consultant.

Personal life

His son Ryan Wittman starred for the

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

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

, - , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, align="left" , , 82, , 32, , 50, , , , align="center" , 6th in Central, , , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 30, , 52, , , , align="center" , 6th in Central, , , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" ,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, align="left" , , 42, , 12, , 30, , , , align="center" , 4th in Northwest, , , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 22, , 60, , , , align="center" , 5th in Northwest, , , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 19, , 4, , 15, , , , align="center" , (fired), , , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , — , - , align="left" , Washington , align="left" , , 49, , 18, , 31, , , , align="center" , 4th in Southeast, , , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" , Washington , align="left" , , 82, , 29, , 53, , , , align="center" , 3rd in Southeast, , , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" , Washington , align="left" , , 82, , 44, , 38, , , , align="center" , 2nd in Southeast, , 11, , 6, , 5, , , align="center" , Lost in Conference semifinals , - , align="left" , Washington , align="left" , , 82, , 46, , 36, , , , align="center" , 2nd in Southeast, , 10, , 6, , 4, , , align="center" , Lost in Conference semifinals , - , align="left" , Washington , align="left" , , 82, , 41, , 41, , , , align="center" , 4th in Southeast, , , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 684, , 278, , 406, , , , , , 21, , 12, , 9, ,

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