Bill Cartwright

James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and a former head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 7'1" (2.16 m) center, he played 16 seasons for the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, helping the Bulls capture consecutive championships in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons. He attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California, and played college basketball at the University of San Francisco.

For other people named Bill Cartwright, see Bill Cartwright (disambiguation).

Bill Cartwright
Cartwright in 2011
Personal information
Born (1957-07-30) July 30, 1957
Lodi, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolElk Grove (Elk Grove, California)
CollegeSan Francisco (1975–1979)
NBA draft1979: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career1979–1995
PositionCenter
Number25, 24
Coaching career1996–2013
Career history
As player:
1979–1988New York Knicks
1988–1994Chicago Bulls
1994–1995Seattle SuperSonics
As coach:
1996–2001Chicago Bulls (assistant)
2001–2003Chicago Bulls
2004–2008New Jersey Nets (assistant)
2008–2012Phoenix Suns (assistant)
2013Osaka Evessa
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As assistant coach:

Career statistics
Points12,713 (13.2 ppg)
Rebounds6,106 (6.3 rpg)
Assists1,390 (1.4 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

James William Cartwright was born to James and Marie Cartwright on July 30, 1957 in Lodi, California.[1][2][3]

In high school, Cartwright played basketball for the Elk Grove Thundering Herd under coach Dan Risley. With Cartwright on the squad, the team went undefeated in the 1973-1974 season and was named the best high school basketball team in California in both 1974 and 1975. In 1975, Elk Grove won the NorCal Tournament of Champions.[4] In 1974 and 1975, Cartwright was named California High School State Basketball Player of the Year. In 1975, he was named California High School Sports Athlete of the Year.[5]

As a prep star, Cartwright was just as highly regarded as fellow preps Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby.[6]

Cartwright graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1975.[4]

College basketball career

Cartwright played college basketball at the University of San Francisco and was a consensus second-team all-American in 1977 and 1979. During his time at USF, Cartwright played on one of the tallest starting lineups in collegiate history. He graduated as the all-time leading scorer for the Dons, averaging 19.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Cartwright led San Francisco to three trips to the NCAA tournament, to the first round in the 1977 and to the Sweet Sixteen in both 1978 and 1979.[7]

Year Team W-L G FG FGA FG% FT FTA FT% RBs Avg Pts Avg
1976 22–8 30 151 282 53.0 72 98 73.5 207 6.9 374 12.5
1977 29–2 31 241 426 56.6 118 161 73.3 262 8.5 600 19.4
1978 23–6 21 168 252 66.7 96 131 73.3 213 10.2 432 20.6
1979 22–7 29 268 443 60.6 174 237 73.4 455 15.7 710 24.5
Total 96–23 111 828 1406 58.9 460 627 73.4 1137 10.2 2116 19.1

Professional career

New York Knicks (1979–1988)

Cartwright was the third overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft selected by the New York Knicks, making his only career All-Star Game appearance in his first season.[8] He averaged more than 20 points per game in his first two seasons for the Knicks, but after playing no fewer than 77 games in his first five seasons, a series of foot injuries caused him to miss the entire 1984–1985 season.[9] Following that season, the Knicks drafted center Patrick Ewing with the number-one overall pick in the 1985 NBA draft. However, ongoing foot problems limited Cartwright to only two appearances during the 1985–1986 season.[10][11] When Cartwright returned for the 1986–1987 season, he and Ewing would often start and play together but during the 1987–1988 season Cartwright was relegated to the bench.[12]

Chicago Bulls (1988–1994)
Bill Cartwright (#24) playing for the Chicago Bulls on March 28, 1991; Michael Jordan and New Jersey Nets Chris Dudley (#22) square off

On June 15, 1988, Cartwright was traded, along with two draft picks, to the Chicago Bulls for forward Charles Oakley and two draft picks.[13] The Bulls were willing to part with Oakley, the league's second-leading rebounder in the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons, because of their need for a center and the rapid development of power forward Horace Grant.[14] Cartwright was the Bulls' starting center during their string of three consecutive NBA championships in 1991, 1992 and 1993. During the 1992–93 season, Cartwright took an elbow to the throat during a regular-season game against the Indiana Pacers that fractured his larynx and left him with a hoarse voice.[15]

The Bulls, who were without Michael Jordan the following season following his retirement, made the 1994 NBA playoffs but were eliminated in a controversial game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Knicks. Cartwright departed the team thereafter as an unrestricted free agent.

Seattle SuperSonics (1994–1995)

Cartwright left the Bulls as a free agent and signed with the Seattle SuperSonics. He only played in 29 games for the Sonics, and retired after the 1994–95 NBA season.

Coaching career

A year after his retirement, Cartwright joined the Bulls once again as an assistant coach under Phil Jackson ahead of the 1996–97 NBA season. He was a member of the championship-winning teams in 1997 and 1998. The Bulls went through significant changes following the 1997–98 season, with not only Jordan and Pippen leaving, but Tim Floyd taking over as head coach from Jackson. The Bulls had a lengthy rebuilding effort, and Cartwright took over the Bulls 27 games into the 2001–02 season, going 17–38 after the team's 4–23 start under Floyd and interim head coach Bill Berry, the latter whom coached for two games before Cartwright was named interim head coach. The Bulls finished 21–61 on the year and the following season Cartwright was promoted from interim to permanent head coach. In the 2002–03 season the Bulls finished 30–52, but Cartwright would last only 14 games into the 2003–04 season — going 4–10 — before being fired.[16] Pete Myers and finally Scott Skiles coached the Bulls immediately following Cartwright's tenure.

In 2004, the New Jersey Nets hired Cartwright as an assistant coach under Lawrence Frank. In 2008, Cartwright was named as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns under Terry Porter. Suns general manager Steve Kerr hired the former big man to help coach veteran big man Shaquille O'Neal, all-star Amar'e Stoudemire, and upcoming draft picks.[17] After the Suns dismissed Porter and promoted assistant Alvin Gentry, Cartwright stayed on as assistant coach with the team.

In January 2013, Cartwright was hired to coach Osaka Evessa in Japan.[18][19][20]

In September 2014, Cartwright was hired as the head coach of the Mexico National Basketball Team.

Personal life

Cartwright married his junior high school sweetheart, Sheri, and together they have four children Justin, Jason, James and Kristin and has 2 grandkids names Trey and Gavin. He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from USF and later obtained a master's degree in organization development in 1998 from the same institution. In 2016, Cartwright became USF’s director of university initiatives.[21]

Cartwright is an avid fan of doo-wop music from the 1950s and 1960s,[22] and plays guitar and collects transistor radios as hobbies.[23][24]

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1979–80 New York 8238.4.547–.7978.92.00.61.221.7
1980–81 New York 8235.7.554.000.7887.51.40.61.020.1
1981–82 New York 725028.6.562–.7635.81.20.70.914.4
1982–83 New York 828230.1.566–.7447.21.70.51.515.7
1983–84 New York 777732.3.561.000.8058.41.40.61.317.0
1985–86 New York 2018.0.429–.6005.02.50.50.56.0
1986–87 New York 585034.3.531–.7907.71.70.70.417.5
1987–88 New York 82420.4.544–.7984.71.00.50.511.1
1988–89 Chicago 787629.9.475–.7666.71.20.30.512.4
1989–90 Chicago 717130.4.488–.8116.52.00.50.511.4
1990–91† Chicago 797928.8.490–.6976.21.60.40.29.6
1991–92† Chicago 646423.0.467–.6045.11.40.30.28.0
1992–93† Chicago 636319.9.411–.7353.71.30.30.25.6
1993–94 Chicago 424118.6.513–.6843.61.40.20.25.6
1994–95 Seattle 291914.8.391–.6253.00.30.20.12.4
Career 96367628.5.525.000.7716.31.40.50.713.2
All-Star 1014.0.500––3.01.00.00.08.0

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1981 New York 224.5.353–.6676.50.50.50.510.0
1983 New York 628.7.581–.7735.70.70.51.211.2
1984 New York 1233.2.556–.8638.30.40.21.217.4
1988 New York 4019.0.500–.7334.81.50.00.87.3
1989 Chicago 171734.3.486–.7007.11.20.50.711.8
1990 Chicago 161628.9.413–.6744.71.00.30.38.1
1991† Chicago 171730.1.519–.6884.71.90.50.49.5
1992† Chicago 222237.8.474–.4194.51.70.50.25.6
1993† Chicago 191923.4.465–.7784.51.50.60.26.3
1994 Chicago 9821.0.326–.8134.91.20.30.24.6
Career 1249928.2.482–.7255.41.30.40.58.9

Head coaching record
Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %

NBA
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Chicago 2001–02 551738.3098th in Central———— Missed playoffs
Chicago 2002–03 823052.3666th in Central———— Missed playoffs
Chicago 2003–04 14410.286(fired)———— —
Career 15151100.338————

Japan
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Osaka Evessa 2013 21156.7147th in Western———— Missed playoffs

See also

References
  1. McDermott, Barry (February 24, 1975). "A high road for a hot high-schooler". Vault.SI.com.
  2. "Bill Cartwright". www.nba.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  3. "The Unbeatable Bill Cartwright: A Biography of Triumph". SportsBiography.com. April 20, 2023.
  4. "Local basketball legend reunites with champion Herd team". Elk Grove Citizen. July 19, 2019.
  5. "Cartwright selected to inaugural section Hall of Fame". Elk Grove Citizen. April 27, 2010.
  6. "1975 Parade All-American". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 23, 1975. p. 226. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20061014215508/http://www.ncaa.org/library/records/basketball/m_basketballs_finest/2005/m_basketball_finest.pdf
  8. "Bill Cartwright Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  9. Sullivan, Paul. "CARTWRIGHT THE ONE LEFT STANDING". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  10. Johnson, Roy S. (January 28, 1986). "Cartwright Likely to Be Lost for Season". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  11. "Knicks Top Even Themselves for Injuries". Los Angeles Times. April 6, 1986. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  12. "The Life and Times of Mr. Bill – Chicago Bulls History". History.Bulls.com. January 15, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  13. "Charles Oakley Stats". BasketballReference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  14. "YEAR-BY-YEAR HISTORY OF THE CHICAGO BULLS". NBA.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  15. Sherwin, Bob (November 3, 1994). "Bill Cartwright – Elbowing Way To Top – When Sonic Center's Around, Foes Have A Lot To Think About". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  16. "Cartwright Relieved as Bulls Head Coach". NBA. December 19, 2013.
  17. Coro, Paul (June 19, 2008). "Suns fill out coaching staff". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  18. "Cartwright hired to coach Osaka team in Japan". ESPN.com. January 22, 2013.
  19. "Cartwright gives parting thoughts on experience in Japan". www.japantimes.co.jp. May 8, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  20. "Osaka coach Cartwright puts focus on fundamentals". www.japantimes.co.jp. February 3, 2013. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  21. Carpenter, Ed (March 8, 2016). "NBA Star Bill Cartwright Named USF Ambassador". USFCA.edu. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  22. Faraudo, Jeff (March 7, 2020). "Five Questions... Bill Cartwright, USF Dons". wccsports.com. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  23. Coro, Paul (July 1, 2008). "Cartwright a big-man coach, more". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  24. Coro, Paul (December 30, 2010). "Suns Extra: Q & A with assistant coach Bill Cartwright". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
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