SPOKANE, Wash. -- Former college and professional basketball coach Butch Van Breda Kolff, who twice led the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals and coached Bill Bradley at Princeton, has died after a long illness.
Van Breda Kolff, 84, died Wednesday afternoon at a nursing home in Spokane, his daughter, Kristina Van Breda Kolff, said.
He posted a 482-272 coaching record in 28 college seasons and was 287-316 in 10 seasons as an NBA and ABA coach. He took six teams to the NCAA Tournament at a time when tournament berths were much scarcer, and won seven conference titles.
Willem Hendrik Van Breda Kolff was born Oct. 28, 1922, in Montclair, N.J. He attended Princeton University, but his college career was interrupted by duty with the Marines in World War II.
He returned from the war to become captain of Princeton's basketball team in the 1946-47 season and played for the New York Knicks from 1946-1950.
Van Breda Kolff began his coaching career at Lafayette in 1951 and went on to coach Hofstra, Princeton and New Orleans. He went 103-31 at Princeton, winning four Ivy League titles, and led Hofstra to a 23-1 record in 1959-60. He ranks 74th all-time in college wins.
In the professional ranks, he was a success right away, leading a Lakers team with Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain to the NBA Finals two years in a row, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. His pro resume included stops in Detroit (1969-72), Phoenix (part of the 1972-73 season), the Memphis Tams of the ABA (1973-74), the New Orleans Jazz (1974-77) and the New Orleans Pride of the Women's Basketball League from 1979-81.
Van Breda Kolff and his wife Florence had three daughters, Karen, Kristina and Kaatje. Their son Jan is a former professional player and college head coach at Cornell, Vanderbilt, Pepperdine and St. Bonaventure.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
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