Long Beach State Remembers Former Head Coach Tex Winter
10/11/2018 11:12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Hall of Fame basketball coach Fredrick “Tex” Winter, who was Long Beach State’s head coach for five seasons, died Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Former Long Beach State men's basketball coach Tex Winter, the architect of the famed triangle offense who went on to win nine NBA Championships as an assistant coach, died on Wednesday evening at age 96. Winter coached at Long Beach State for five seasons from 1978-83, going 78-69 during his time with the Beach.
"He's in the long line of coaches that not only were great here at Long Beach State, but went on to do great things," current Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson said. "What he did with the Chicago Bulls and revolutionizing the NBA was special. Tex said this was one of his favorite places he ever coached at and I said, 'Me too.'"
Winter was a head coach at five Division I institutions during his career, starting at Marquette in 1951. He then spent 15 years as a head coach at Kansas State, representing the longest coaching stop of his career from 1953-68.
After leaving Long Beach State, Winter joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach in 1985, and would win six NBA titles with legendary head coach Phil Jackson. He then began a nine-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999, winning three more NBA championships as Jackson's top assistant. Winter's famed triangle offense, which he wrote about in his 1962 book entitled The Triple-Post Offense, has been credited as one of the driving forces behind those championship dynasties.
Winter was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. He also received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association.
Born Feb. 25, 1922 in Wellington, Tex., Winter and his family moved to Southern California when he was a teenager. He would attend Huntington Park High School and Compton College before earning a pole vaulting scholarship to Oregon State. In 1943, Winter left school to serve in the United States Navy as a pilot during World War II. Following the war, he completed his senior year of college at USC as a member of both the basketball and track teams, earning All-American status as a pole vaulter.
Winter died on Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan. where he lived with his wife, Nancy. He is also survived by his sons Chris, Brian, and Russ, and three grandchildren.
"He's in the long line of coaches that not only were great here at Long Beach State, but went on to do great things," current Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson said. "What he did with the Chicago Bulls and revolutionizing the NBA was special. Tex said this was one of his favorite places he ever coached at and I said, 'Me too.'"
Winter was a head coach at five Division I institutions during his career, starting at Marquette in 1951. He then spent 15 years as a head coach at Kansas State, representing the longest coaching stop of his career from 1953-68.
After leaving Long Beach State, Winter joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach in 1985, and would win six NBA titles with legendary head coach Phil Jackson. He then began a nine-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999, winning three more NBA championships as Jackson's top assistant. Winter's famed triangle offense, which he wrote about in his 1962 book entitled The Triple-Post Offense, has been credited as one of the driving forces behind those championship dynasties.
Winter was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. He also received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association.
Born Feb. 25, 1922 in Wellington, Tex., Winter and his family moved to Southern California when he was a teenager. He would attend Huntington Park High School and Compton College before earning a pole vaulting scholarship to Oregon State. In 1943, Winter left school to serve in the United States Navy as a pilot during World War II. Following the war, he completed his senior year of college at USC as a member of both the basketball and track teams, earning All-American status as a pole vaulter.
Winter died on Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan. where he lived with his wife, Nancy. He is also survived by his sons Chris, Brian, and Russ, and three grandchildren.
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