Quick Facts
LeoBiography
Stuart Kirk Inman (August 2, 1926 – January 30, 2007) was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1950 NBA Draft from San Jose State University by the Chicago Stags; however, he did not play in the NBA.
Early life and education
Inman played college basketball at San Jose State from 1947 to 1950. As a senior, he averaged 14.9 points.
Coaching career
After graduating from San Jose State, Inman became head coach at Madera High School in Madera, California for a season, then was head coach at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Fresno from 1951 to 1953. He then moved up to the junior college level as head coach at Santa Ana City College from 1953 to 1955, then at Orange Coast Junior College from 1955 to 1957. From 1957 to 1960, Inman was an assistant coach at San Jose State before serving as head coach from 196o to 1966.
Executive career
In 1970, Inman was one of several people who started the expansion Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise, and initially served as chief scout. He also served as interim coach at the end of the 1971–72 season, after Rolland Todd was fired midway through the season. Inman played a significant role in the building of Portland Trail Blazers' 1976–77 NBA championship team.
He drafted Bill Walton, Geoff Petrie, Larry Steele, Lloyd Neal, Lionel Hollins, Bobby Gross, Wally Walker and Johnny Davis, signed Dave Twardzik after the American Basketball Association folded, and selected Maurice Lucas in the ABA dispersal draft. Inman later served as the team's general manager from 1981 through 1986.
Inman is probably best known for being the GM who selected oft-injured Kentucky center Sam Bowie with the number two selection overall in the 1984 NBA Draft, one spot ahead of the Chicago Bulls who selected Michael Jordan with the number three selection overall. Bob Knight, who coached Jordan on the 1984 Summer Olympics team, was good friends with Inman. He called Inman after holding practice with the team prior to the Olympics and bragged about Jordan, calling him the greatest player he had ever seen. He told Inman that he had to pick Jordan in the draft. Inman, who had guards Clyde Drexler and Jim Paxson already on the team, told Knight the team needed a center. Knight famously responded "then play Jordan at center!" - Inman also served in the front office of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat. He later served as an assistant coach at Lake Oswego High School.
Inman died in Lake Oswego, Oregon of a heart attack, aged 80.
Head coaching record
College
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose State Spartans (West Coast Conference) (1960–1966) | |||||||||
| 1960–61 | San Jose State | 11–14 | 5–7 | 5th | |||||
| 1961–62 | San Jose State | 13–11 | 0–12 | 7th | |||||
| 1962–63 | San Jose State | 14–10 | 6–6 | T–4th | |||||
| 1963–64 | San Jose State | 14–10 | 6–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1964–65 | San Jose State | 14–10 | 9–5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1965–66 | San Jose State | 11–13 | 7–7 | T–4th | |||||
| San Jose State: | 77–68 | 33–43 | |||||||
| Total: | 77–68 | ||||||||
NBA
| Legend | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win-loss % | |
| Post season | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win-loss % | |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | 1972 | 26 | 6 | 20 | .231 | 5th in Pacific | – | – | – | – | – |
| Career | 26 | 6 | 20 | .231 | – | – | – | – | – |