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- The Denver Post, Colorado, Sunday, August 19, 2018
Bob Bass, Denver?s first ABA coadh, dies at 89
SAN ANTONIO Bob Bass, the original coach of the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association, has died. He was 89.
Bass coached the team that eventually became the Nuggets in its first two seasons, 1967-68 and 1968-69. He directed the inaugural Rockets team to a 45-33 record, good for third place in the ABA's Western Division. Bass' second Rockets team went 44-34.
Those teams were led by guard Larry Jones, who averaged 28.4 points per game in that second season, and also included Byron Beck, from the University of Denver, and Lonnie Wright, from Colorado State.
Bass also was a former San Antonio and Charlotte general manager who was an integral part of the front office for most of the Spurs' first 20 years in South Texas.
Bass' death was confirmed by the Spurs on Saturday in a statement from coach Gregg Popovich. The San Antonio Express-News reported that Bass died Friday at home in San Antonio after a series of strokes.
"Over the course of four decades, Bob Bass had a huge impact in both the ABA and NBA," Popovich said in a statement released by the team. "BB was a true pioneer in the world of professional basketball. His knowledge, passion and dedication to the game were inspiring. We send our condolences to the entire Bass family."
After getting hired as coach during the Spurs' second season in San Antonio in 1974-75, Bass joined the front office as general manager when the club moved from the ABA to the NBA in 1976.
The two-time NBA executive of the year spent 20 seasons with the Spurs in various roles -- returning three times as coach -- before going to Charlotte as the GM in 1994. He spent nine seasons with the Hornets. Bass coached his alma mater of Oklahoma Baptist from 1952-67, first joined the ABA as coach of the Rockets in 1967. He went back to college at Texas Tech from 1969-71, then back to the ABA with the Floridians in 1971-72 and the Memphis Tams in 1973-74 before landing with the Spurs.
Bass had a 311-300 career regular-season coaching record in the ABA and NBA.
The Oklahomian, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Monday, August 20, 2018
OBU, Spurs Legend Bob Bass died at 89
Bob Bass was a prominent figure in the history of two NBA franchises. But Bass was a legend at Oklahoma Baptist University.
Bass, 89, died Friday night at his home in San Antonio, where he had was an iconic general manager of the Spurs from 1974-94. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich issued a statement through the Spurs that said, "Over the course of four decades, Bob Bass had a huge impact in both the ABA and the NBA. BB was a true pioneer in the world of professional basketball. His knowledge, passion and dedication to the game were inspiring. We send our condolences to the entire Bass family."
But before the NBA, Bass was building quite the legacy in Shawnee. A graduate of Tulsa Rogers High School, Bass went to Oklahoma Baptist and captained the Bison three straight years in the early 1950s. He soon became the OBU basketball and baseball coach, and Bass led the Bison to perhaps the greatest success ever by an Oklahoma program in the small-college ranks.
Bass' OBU teams made three straight NAIA title games, 1965-67, back when the NAIA was loaded with great teams. The 1966 Bison won the NAIA championship.
"Bob Bass is the man who started the Bison on the road to success in men's basketball," John Parrish, who was OBU's sports information director in those glory years, said in a release by the school. "Bob Bass was a developer of great teams and great players and devoted much of his life to improving the game of basketball."
Bass was head basketball coach at OBU for 15 years, with a record of 275-146. Only Doug Tolin coached the Bison to more wins, and Tolin and Bass are the only OBU coaches to produce national-title teams. Bass was inducted into the OBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1971 and into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
"Coach Bass was responsible for putting Bison basketball on the map," said OBU athletic director Robert Davenport. "His coaching and leadership goes well beyond Bison Hill. He will be missed."
Bass left OBU after the 1967 NAIA Tournament to take the Denver Rockets job of the fledgling American Basketball Association. Bass coached two years with the Rockets (who became the current Nuggets) before taking the Texas Tech job. Bass left Lubbock midway through his first year to return to the ABA and coach the Miami Floridians. After a year-and-a-half, Bass moved on to coach the ABA's Memphis Tams for a season.
But in 1974, Bass was hired by the Spurs as general manager, and he found a home. Bass had three stints as coach or interim coach, going 83-57 in the ABA and 60-51 in the NBA, but his biggest mark was in the front office. Bass established the Spurs' winning culture.
The Spurs made the playoffs 17 times in Bass' 20 years as general manager. Among his acquisitions: George Gervin, David Robinson, Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, John Lucas and Alvin Robertson.
In 1994, Bass became GM of the Charlotte Hornets, who eventually moved to New Orleans. The Hornets never had a losing season in the seven years Bass ran the team.
Bass twice was named NBA Executive of the Year, once each with the Spurs and Hornets.
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