1. John William McCloskey was an American basketball player, coach and executive.
18 Facts About Jack McCloskey
1. 2.
Jack McCloskey served as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and general manager of the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.
3.
Jack McCloskey was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania on September 19,1925, to Buelah and Eddie Jack McCloskey.
4.
Jack McCloskey left school to serve in World War II as a lieutenant commanding a landing ship for the Marines.
5.
Jack McCloskey played one game for the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA during the 1953 season, scoring 6 points in that game.
6.
Jack McCloskey spent time in Eastern Professional Basketball League, including with the Sunbury Mercuries.
7.
Jack McCloskey was the EPBL Most Valuable Player in 1953 and 1954, and earned four nominations to the All-EPBL First Team.
8.
Jack McCloskey won an EPBL championship with the Pottsville Packers in 1949.
9.
Jack McCloskey served as head coach of the University of Pennsylvania from 1956 to 1966, and of Wake Forest from 1966 to 1972.
10.
Jack McCloskey followed this stint as an assistant coach to Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers.
11.
When West became general manager in 1979, McCloskey felt he had earned the right to become head coach, but Jack McKinney was hired instead.
12.
In 1979, Jack McCloskey became general manager of the Detroit Pistons.
13.
Jack McCloskey acquired Darrell Walker, Brad Sellers, and Orlando Woolridge, and let go of Vinnie Johnson and James Edwards to try to make the team younger.
14.
Jack McCloskey drafted Doug Overton in the second round that year, who did not even play the following season.
15.
Jack McCloskey later served in the front offices of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Toronto Raptors, the latter on an interim basis.
16.
On March 29,2008, Jack McCloskey had his name honored in Auburn Hills, with a banner raised at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
17.
Jack McCloskey's daughter is the writer Molly McCloskey, whose memoir Circles Around the Sun: In Search of a Lost Brother recounts the story of the McCloskey family with particular focus on Molly's brother, Mike.
18.
In May 2017, it was announced Jack McCloskey had Alzheimer's disease.