 Nat Holman 1933Goudey Sport Kings card | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1896-10-19)October 19, 1896 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 12, 1995(1995-02-12) (aged 98) Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1919–1952 | CCNY |
| 1954–1956 | CCNY |
| 1958–1959 | CCNY |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 421–190 |
| Tournaments | 4–2 (NCAA Division I) 6–3 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA (1950) NIT (1950) | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1964 (profile) | |
Nat Holman (bornNathan Helmanowich; October 19, 1896 – February 12, 1995) was an American professionalbasketball player and college coach. He is a member of theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is the only coach to lead his team toNCAA andNational Invitation Tournament (NIT) championships in the same season.
Holman was born Nathan Helmanowich on theLower East Side ofManhattan to Russian immigrant parents, and was Jewish.[1][2][3] He attended P.S. 62, and was then a star in basketball, soccer, and football at the High School of Commerce, graduated from the Savage School for Physical Education, and earned a master's degree fromNew York University.[4][5] Known for his exceptional ball-handling and his accurate shooting, Holman was a star player for theNYU men's basketball team.
Holman was also an important player for theOriginal Celtics, which were no relation to theBoston Celtics.[6] Also a gifted passer and excellent floor leader, Holman was a prototype of later playmakers.
Although Holman played professional basketball until 1930, he took over the head coaching position at theCity College of New York in 1920. Known as "Mr. Basketball," Holman guidedCCNY to the so-called grand slam of college basketball, winning both theNCAA andNIT titles in 1950, a feat that has never been achieved before or since, and is no longer possible as the tournaments now take place concurrently.
In 1951, Holman's CCNY team became involved in a nationalpoint-shaving scandal that involved seven different schools. While several CCNY players, includingEd Warner andEd Roman were arrested, the investigation cleared Holman of any wrongdoing. Despite this, CCNY to suspended Holman after the 1951–52 season. He returned for brief stints in 1954–56 and 1958–59, ultimately retiring in 1959. Holman compiled an overall record of 421–190 in 37 seasons at CCNY. CCNY would go on to drop down to theNCAA Division III in the 1963–64 season.
While relatively untainted by the scandal, Holman was described by author Matthew Goodman as "arrogant and aloof...who somehow developed a British accent" despite his Lower East Side roots.[7]
Holman also foundedCamp Scatico in 1921 and ran the camp until he sold it to his niece and her husband in 1964.
Holman wrote two books on basketball technique entitledScientific Basketball (1922) andWinning Basketball (1932), and his CCNY Beaver teams were lauded as "basketball's version of bebop, like a five-man jazz combo, with each player improvising off a few basic patterns, together creating something fast and complex and unpredictable.' "[7]
In his later years, he lived and died at theHebrew Home for the Aged in theRiverdale section of theBronx.
Holman was inducted into theBasketball Hall of Fame, theInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, theNew York Basketball Hall of Fame, and the CCNY Hall of Fame.[8][9][10] In 1977, the City College of New York renamed a 3500-seat campus arena for him as the Nat Holman Gymnasium.[11][12]
Holman, along with future Basketball Hall-of-Famer Barney Sedran, are often credited with the invention of the pick and roll in the early 1920's. This play eventually became the basis for basketball, and is perhaps the most impactful contribution from Nat Holman to the basketball world throughout his entire career. This play was dubbed as "Execution Play No. 8" in his book, "Scientific Basketball".[13]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCNY Beavers(Independent)(1919–1933) | |||||||||
| 1919–20 | CCNY | 13–3 | |||||||
| 1920–21 | CCNY | 11–4 | |||||||
| 1921–22 | CCNY | 10–2 | |||||||
| 1922–23 | CCNY | 12–1 | |||||||
| 1923–24 | CCNY | 12–1 | |||||||
| 1924–25 | CCNY | 12–2 | |||||||
| 1925–26 | CCNY | 9–5 | |||||||
| 1926–27 | CCNY | 9–3 | |||||||
| 1927–28 | CCNY | 11–4 | |||||||
| 1928–29 | CCNY | 9–5 | |||||||
| 1929–30 | CCNY | 11–3 | |||||||
| 1930–31 | CCNY | 12–4 | |||||||
| 1931–32 | CCNY | 16–1 | |||||||
| 1932–33 | CCNY | 13–1 | |||||||
| CCNY Beavers(Metropolitan New York Conference)(1933–1934) | |||||||||
| 1933–34 | CCNY | 14–1 | 4–1 | 3rd | |||||
| CCNY Beavers(Independent)(1934–1935) | |||||||||
| 1934–35 | CCNY | 10–6 | |||||||
| CCNY Beavers(Metropolitan New York Conference)(1935–1939) | |||||||||
| 1935–36 | CCNY | 10–4 | 3–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1936–37 | CCNY | 10–6 | 3–3 | 6th | |||||
| 1937–38 | CCNY | 14–3 | 4–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1938–39 | CCNY | 11–6 | 11–6 | 6th | |||||
| CCNY Beavers(Independent)(1939–1942) | |||||||||
| 1939–40 | CCNY | 8–8 | |||||||
| 1940–41 | CCNY | 17–5 | NIT Third Place | ||||||
| 1941–42 | CCNY | 16–3 | NIT quarterfinal | ||||||
| CCNY Beavers(Metropolitan New York Conference)(1942–1943) | |||||||||
| 1942–43 | CCNY | 8–10 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| CCNY Beavers(Independent)(1943–1945) | |||||||||
| 1943–44 | CCNY | 6–11 | |||||||
| 1944–45 | CCNY | 12–4 | |||||||
| CCNY Beavers(Metropolitan New York Conference)(1945–1952) | |||||||||
| 1945–46 | CCNY | 14–4 | 4–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1946–47 | CCNY | 17–6 | 4–1 | 2nd | NCAA Final Four | ||||
| 1947–48 | CCNY | 18–3 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1948–49 | CCNY | 17–8 | 3–2 | T–3rd | NIT quarterfinal | ||||
| 1949–50 | CCNY | 24–5 | 6–0 | 1st | NCAA Champion,NIT Champion | ||||
| 1950–51 | CCNY | 12–7 | 2–2 | 5th | |||||
| 1951–52 | CCNY | 8–11 | 1–5 | 6th | |||||
| CCNY Beavers(Independent)(1954–1956) | |||||||||
| 1954–55 | CCNY | ||||||||
| 1955–56 | CCNY | ||||||||
| CCNY Beavers(Independent)(1958–1959) | |||||||||
| 1958–59 | CCNY | ||||||||
| CCNY: | 405–150 (.730) | 51–32 (.614) | |||||||
| Total: | 405–150 (.730) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link), pg. 49| International | |
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