 Peterson, in 2008 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1936-01-09)January 9, 1936 (age 89) Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Evanston Township (Evanston, Illinois) |
| College | Northwestern[1] |
| Coaching career | 1962–1987, 2011 |
| Career history | |
Coaching | |
| 1962–1963 | McKendree (assistant) |
| 1963–1965 | Michigan State (assistant) |
| 1965–1966 | Navy (assistant) |
| 1966–1971 | Delaware |
| 1971–1973 | Chilean National Team |
| 1973–1979 | Virtus Bologna |
| 1979–1987 | Olimpia Milano |
| 2011 | Olimpia Milano |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Daniel Lowell Peterson (born January 9, 1936) is an American formerprofessionalbasketballhead coach. He resigned from his most recent position as the head coach ofOlimpia Milano in the ItalianLBA after the team was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2011 Italian league playoffs. The team then announced that he would assume another role with the club. He is nicknamed "The Coach" for his legacy in Italian basketball. Peterson was enshrined in theFIBA Hall of Fame in 2024.[2]
Peterson went toEvanston Township High School inEvanston, Illinois. He received his undergraduate degree fromNorthwestern University in Evanston and a master's degree from theUniversity of Michigan.
He served as assistant coach for NAIA school McKendree College from 1962 to 1963. From 1963 to 1964 he served as freshmen coach atMichigan State. After MSU, for one season, he was plebe coach at theUnited States Naval Academy. The next year, at the age of 30, he became head coach at theUniversity of Delaware. In five years there, he assembled a record of 69 wins and 49 losses.[3]
In 1971, he went abroad, acting as head coach of theChile national basketball team until 1973. Peterson took his Chilean team on a grueling tour of the United States in 1972.[4] From 1973–1978, he coachedVirtus Bologna in the ItalianLBA, winning the 1974Italian Basketball Cup and, in 1976, theItalian League title. In 1978, he was hired as head coach ofOlimpia Milano, where he won four Italian League titles (1982, 1985, 1986, 1987), two more Italian Cups (1986, 1987), aKorać Cup (1985), and oneEuropean Champions Cup (EuroLeague) title, which is the highest title in Europe for proclub basketball.
In 1987, he retired after coaching in Italy for 14 years, but he resumed coaching on January 3, 2011, withOlimpia Milano. He still holds records for a coach in the Italian League playoffs, with 11 Final Four appearances in 11 years (after which aplayoff format was introduced), 9 finals, 4 titles, 74 games coached, and 51 games won.
On January 3, 2011, he became the new head coach ofOlimpia Milano, after the dismissal ofPiero Bucchi. He left in June, succeeded bySergio Scariolo.
After his retirement, he became a popularsports commentator (basket andpro wrestling) for major Italian television channels.
He received the Coach of the Year award for Europe from the WABC and the Coach of the Year for Italy twice. Following his retirement from coaching, he was inducted into the Illinois BasketballHall of Fame in 1995.
In 2007, Peterson was named a Distinguished Alumnus ofEvanston Township High School.[5]
In 2008, he was named one of the50 most influential European club basketball personalities over the previous half-century.[6]
Media related toDan Peterson at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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