Stuart Kirk Inman (August 2, 1926 – January 30, 2007) 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 (appro ...

player, coach and executive. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1950 NBA draft from

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

by the

Chicago Stags The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago from 1946 to 1950. History 1946–47 season In the BAA's inaugural year, the Chicago Stags were originally meant to start out as the ''Chicago Atomics'', to the point ...

; however, he did not play in the NBA.

Early life and education

Inman played college basketball at

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

from 1947 to 1950. As a senior, he averaged 14.9 points.

Coaching career

After graduating from San Jose State, Inman became head coach at

Madera High School Madera High School is the first school and original high school in the central San Joaquin Valley city of Madera, California, serving students since 1894. The school colors are royal blue & white and its mascot is the coyote. History Madera H ...

Madera, California Madera (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lumber") is a city in and the county seat of Madera County, California, Madera County, located in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Founded in 1876 as a timber town at the terminus of a major logging f ...

for a season, then was head coach at Theodore Roosevelt High School in

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

from 1951 to 1953. He then moved up to the junior college level as head coach at Santa Ana City College from 1953 to 1955, then at Orange Coast Junior College from 1955 to 1957. From 1957 to 1960, Inman was an assistant coach at San Jose State before serving as head coach from 1960 to 1966.

Executive career

In 1970, Inman was one of several people who started the expansion

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 Northwest Division (N ...

NBA franchise, and initially served as chief scout. He also served as interim coach at the end of the 1971–72 season, after

Rolland Todd Rolland Douglas Todd (born April 26, 1934) is a former player and coach in the National Basketball Association, and a former player in the American Basketball League (1961–63), American Basketball League, who also coached basketball at Univers ...

was fired midway through the season. Inman played a significant role in the building of Portland Trail Blazers' 1976–77 NBA championship team, acquiring

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American basketball player and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. He played college basketball, collegiately for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins an ...

Geoff Petrie Geoffrey Michael Petrie (born April 17, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Pennsylvania, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers where he ...

, Larry Steele,

Lloyd Neal Lloyd Neal (born December 10, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player born in Talbotton, Georgia. A 6'7" center/ forward from Tennessee State University, Neal spent his entire professional career (1972–1979) with the ...

Lionel Hollins Lionel Eugene Hollins (born October 19, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Holli ...

, Bobby Gross,

Wally Walker Walter Frederick Walker (born July 18, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player. He is best known for his National Basketball Association (NBA) career – both as a player and as a front office executive for the Seattle SuperS ...

and Johnny Davis through the draft, signed

Dave Twardzik David John Twardzik (born September 20, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a point guard in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is best known for bein ...

after the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

folded, and selected

Maurice Lucas Maurice Lucas (February 18, 1952 – October 31, 2010) was an American professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a four-time NBA All-Star and won ...

in the ABA dispersal draft. Inman later served as the team's general manager from 1981 through 1986. As the general manager for the Trail Blazers, Inman selected the oft-injured

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

center

Sam Bowie Samuel Paul Bowie (born March 17, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A national sensation in high school and outstanding collegian and Olympic team member, Bowie's professional promise was undermined by repeated injuries ...

with the number-two pick in the 1984 NBA draft, one spot ahead of the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

who selected

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

. At the time Portland already had shooting guards (

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Bask ...

and

Jim Paxson James Joseph Paxson Jr. (born July 9, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. A 1st round selection (12th pick overall) of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1979 NBA draft, Paxson played for Portland and the Boston Celtics o ...

) and were in need of a center. Inman reflected on the move in 1992, telling ''

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...

'', "There's really no excuse. ..I knew Michael Jordan; I spent that summer with

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

and that Olympic team and I can't say I saw that greatness that would manifest itself." Inman worked for 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

as their director of player personnel from 1986 to 1987. He was the director of player personnel for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

from the team's inception in 1987 to 1992. He served as a consultant to

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 ...

head coach Quinn Buckner during the 1993–94 season. He later served as an assistant coach at

Lake Oswego High School Lake Oswego High School (LOHS) is a public high school in Lake Oswego, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Lake Oswego School District. History Lake Oswego High School first opened in September 1951 as a six-year school, with an enrollment ...

. He died at age 80 in

Lake Oswego, Oregon Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Population in 2020 was 40,731, an 11.2% increase since 2010, making it the ...

of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

.Stu Inman, 80; helped assemble Portland's NBA champion team
/ref>

Head coaching record

College

NBA

, - , align="left" ,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, align="left" , , 26, , 6, , 20, , , , 5th in Pacific , align="center", – , align="center", – , align="center", – , align="center", – , align="center", – , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , , , 26, , 6, , 20, , , , , align="center", – , align="center", – , align="center", – , align="center", – , align="center", –

References

Additional sources

* *

External links

Basketball-Reference.com: Stu Inman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inman, Stu 1926 births 2007 deaths Place of birth missing Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Alameda County, California Centers (basketball) Chicago Stags draft picks High school basketball coaches in California Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Portland Trail Blazers executives Portland Trail Blazers head coaches San Jose State Spartans men's basketball coaches San Jose State Spartans men's basketball players Sportspeople from Lake Oswego, Oregon Basketball players from Portland, Oregon