| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1933-04-17)April 17, 1933 (age 92)[1] Alpena, Michigan, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Michigan |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1966–1972 | Eastern Michigan |
| 1972–1975 | Michigan (assistant) |
| 1975–1986 | Minnesota |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 312–163 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Big Ten regular season (1982) | |
| Awards | |
| Big Ten Coach of the Year (1982) | |
Jim Dutcher (born April 17, 1933) is a former head basketball coach at theUniversity of Minnesota.
Dutcher was born and raised inAlpena, Michigan. He graduated fromAlpena High School in 1951 where he was class president and a three-sport athlete, earning All-State honors in football and basketball. He attended theUniversity of Michigan, where he received an Elmer Gideon Scholarship to play football and basketball. A member of theLambda Chi Alpha fraternity, he majored in physical education, graduating with a B.S. in 1955 and earning an M.A. from the University of Michigan in 1961.[2][3][4] Dutcher joined the Army in 1955, serving as a member of the 3rd Armored Division and was stationed inFrankfurt,Germany. He coached and played on the 3rd Armored Division Artillery basketball team while in Germany, and also coached the offensive line for the Armored Division football team. Dutcher married his high school sweetheart, Marilyn, in 1957.
Dutcher began his coaching career atAlpena Community College[5] where he served as Athletic Director and head basketball coach culminating in a trip to the National Junior College Tournament in 1966. He was twice named conference coach of the year. In 1966, he became the head basketball coach atEastern Michigan University, where he was named National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) District Coach of the Year in 1971 and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) District 4, Coach of the Year in 1972.
While at Eastern Michigan, his team played in the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971; and the NCAA College Division Finals inEvansville, Indiana in 1972. Prominent players Dutcher coached at Eastern Michigan includedKennedy McIntosh, who played with the Seattle SuperSonics;Earl Higgins, who played with the Indiana Pacers; Harvey Marlatt, who played with the Detroit Pistons; and Hall of FamerGeorge Gervin, nicknamed "The Iceman," who played with the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls.
Dutcher became an assistant coach at his alma mater, theUniversity of Michigan, under head coachJohnny Orr. During the 1974-75 season the team won the Big Ten Championship.[6]
Dutcher took over the Gophers program in 1975 following the departure ofBill Musselman. Not long after he arrived, the Gophers were slapped with heavy NCAA sanctions due to violations under Musselman's watch. The Gophers were forced to forfeit the entire 1976-77 season, and were banned from postseason play until 1979.
The Gophers recovered fairly quickly, and in 1982 they won their last "official"Big Ten Conference title and advanced to the Sweet 16 of that year'sNCAA Tournament. He was named theBig Ten Coach of the Year in 1982.
Prominent players coached by Dutcher at Minnesota includedRay Williams, who later played for the New York Knicks;Mychal Thompson, who played for the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers;Kevin McHale, who played for the Boston Celtics;Trent Tucker, who played for the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls;Randy Breuer, who played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings;Flip Saunders, who became an NBA coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards;Osborne Lockhart, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters;Jim Peterson, who played for the Houston Rockets; Darrell Mitchell, who was named first-team All-Big Ten, and Tommy Davis, also a first-team All-Big Ten player.
On January 25, 1986, three Gopher players were arrested onrape charges inMadison, Wisconsin. A Madison woman claimed the players raped her at their team hotel hours after the Gophers played theWisconsin Badgers. After the arrests, U of M officials forfeited the Gophers' next scheduled game, againstNorthwestern, citing the arrests and a series of less serious incidents prior to the arrests. Dutcher resigned in protest of the decision to forfeit the game. All three players were ultimately acquitted of all charges.
Dutcher went on to become a registered financial advisor and became a Senior Vice President for Royal Bank of Canada-Dain. He retired from RBC in 2005.
Dutcher and his wife Marilyn had four children; sonBrian Dutcher is the head basketball coach atSan Diego State; daughter Diane McNutt is Vice President of Human Capital at UnitedHealthcare;Judi Dutcher is an attorney, the formerMinnesota State Auditor and the CEO of the Bentson Foundation; and Barbara Jacobson is a Director of Market Research at UnitedHealthcare. Marilyn Dutcher died in 2010.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Michigan Eagles(Independent)(1966–1972) | |||||||||
| 1966–67 | Eastern Michigan | 18–7 | NAIA District 23 Playoffs | ||||||
| 1967–68 | Eastern Michigan | 20–9 | NAIA Elite Eight | ||||||
| 1968–69 | Eastern Michigan | 20–9 | NAIA Second Round | ||||||
| 1969–70 | Eastern Michigan | 22–7 | NAIA Second Round | ||||||
| 1970–71 | Eastern Michigan | 23–10 | NAIA Runner-Up | ||||||
| 1971–72 | Eastern Michigan | 24–7 | NCAA College Division Final Four | ||||||
| Eastern Michigan: | 127–49[7] | ||||||||
| Minnesota Golden Gophers(Big Ten)(1975–1986) | |||||||||
| 1975–76 | Minnesota | 16–10 | 8–10 | 6th | |||||
| 1976–77 | Minnesota | 24–3% | 15–3% | 2nd% | ^ | ||||
| 1977–78 | Minnesota | 17–10 | 12–6 | T-2nd | ^ | ||||
| 1978–79 | Minnesota | 11–16 | 6–12 | T-8th | |||||
| 1979–80 | Minnesota | 21–11 | 10–8 | T-6th | NIT Runner-up | ||||
| 1980–81 | Minnesota | 19–11 | 9–9 | T-5th | NIT 3rd Place | ||||
| 1981–82 | Minnesota | 23–6 | 14–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1982–83 | Minnesota | 18–11 | 9–9 | T-6th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1983–84 | Minnesota | 15–13 | 6–12 | T-8th | |||||
| 1984–85 | Minnesota | 13–15 | 6–12 | 8th | |||||
| 1985–86 | Minnesota | 13–7 | 3–4 | $ | |||||
| Minnesota: | 190–113& | 98–89& | |||||||
| Total: | 312–163 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||