Friday the passing of a titan as former Jazz Head Coach Jerry Sloan passed away at age 78.
The Hall-of-Famer died from complications with Parkinson’s disease and dementia according to ESPN.
Jerry Sloan was the best coach in Utah’s great basketball history. He retired fourth in games, coached, wins and playoff game appearances and sixth all-time in playoff wins. He was inducted into the hall of fame in 2009 and renowned as one of the league’s best ever since.
A native of Mcleansboro, Illinois, Sloan played his ball at Evansville being drafted by the Baltimore Bullets fourth overall in the 1965 NBA Draft.
A year later he found himself a Chicago Bull where he shined, being a tenacious defender and leading the Bulls to the playoffs in his first season and a division title.
This production earned Sloan a 2x All-Star, 4x All-Star and the name “The Original Bull.” His No. 4 Jersey was the first Bulls Jersey retired in the rafters, according to ESPN.
After retiring as a player, he worked with the Bulls organization from 1978-82 as a Bulls assistant coach then head coach.
In 1985, he joined the Jazz as a team assistant and in ‘88 became their head coach until 2011 and the rest as they say is history.
His coaching record was (1223-803) with a 60% winning percentage and reaching the playoffs 19 times with two NBA title appearances (falling to MJ’s Bulls) to show for it, according to Pro-Basketball Reference.
As for his personal life, Sloan married his high school sweetheart Bobbye and after 41 years and six long years battling breast cancer she tragically passed in 2004. Both Bobbye and he made three beautiful children.
Sloan remarried to Tammy Jessop and had a son, Rhett as a result of that marriage. Three of his children have had successful collegiate basketball careers and he is survived by the four of them along with Jessop.
Both the Bulls, Jazz and the entire sports world sent their condolences via social media and press releases today.
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