1. Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter was an American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense, an offensive system that became the dominant force in the National Basketball Association and resulted in 11 NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000s.
Tex Winter was a head coach in college basketball for 30 years before becoming an assistant coach in the NBA.
Tex Winter was an assistant to Phil Jackson on nine NBA championship teams with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tex Winter grew up in an unpainted shack just outside of Wellington, located in the Texas panhandle, during the Dust Bowl.
The Winter family moved to Lubbock, Texas, in 1929, where his mechanic father died of an infection after being speared by a marlin while fishing, when Tex was nine or ten years old.
Tex Winter had to work while in elementary school to help his family, one such job being to collect boxes for a local baker in exchange for day-old bread.
Tex Winter worked on a truck farm when he first arrived in California, bringing overripe fruit home to the family.
Tex Winter carefully studied coach Jimmy Needles's reverse action offense, which was an early template of the later triangle offense.
Tex Winter was on the basketball and track teams at both schools.
Tex Winter was considered a strong candidate for the US Olympic team in 1944, but the Olympics were cancelled by World War II.
However, his orders were rescinded after his brother's plane was shot down, and Tex Winter remained at Naval Air Station Glenview in Illinois for the duration of the war.
Tex Winter left the Navy with the rank of Ensign in 1946.
Tex Winter was a basketball teammate of Bill Sharman, Alex Hannum, and Gene Rock, future professional basketball players.
At USC, Tex Winter was on the track team, and was named an All-American as a pole vaulter.
Tex Winter was Garnder's assistant in 1948 and 1951 when the team went to the final four of the NCAA tournament.
In 1952, Tex Winter began a two-year stint as head coach at Marquette University, becoming the youngest coach in major college basketball.
In 1953, Tex Winter returned to Kansas State as its head coach; at 31, still the youngest major college coach.
Tex Winter still owns the record for most league titles in school history and twice led the Wildcats to the Final Four.
Tex Winter guided K-State to postseason play seven times overall, including six trips to the NCAA Tournament, and boasts one of the highest winning percentages in K-State's history.
Tex Winter was fired and replaced by assistant coach Johnny Egan on January 21,1973.
In 1985, Tex Winter started another chapter of his life after contemplating retirement, serving as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls, and teaching the triangle offense to Michael Jordan.
Tex Winter was hired to the position by General Manager Jerry Krause, an old friend he had met while at Kansas State.
Tex Winter had a great bond with Bryant, helping Bryant understand the value to Bryant of playing within the team's system, and watching hours of film together.
Jordan learned a great deal from Tex Winter, finding him to be a great teacher and tireless worker, with a constant focus on details and preparation.
Tex Winter lived near Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas with his Alzheimer's-stricken wife and son Brian.
Tex Winter suffered from the after-effects of his 2009 stroke, including an uncooperative right side and nerve pain in his neck and shoulder.
Tex Winter is a member of several halls of fame, including the Kansas State Athletics Hall of Fame, Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the John Bunn Award for lifetime achievement from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
On his eighth time on the final ballot for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced on April 2,2011, that Tex Winter had been elected.
On May 26,2012, Tex Winter was inducted into the Compton Community College Athletics Hall of Fame, under the category of Basketball.