Howie Shannon

Howard Shannon (June 10, 1923 – August 16, 1995) was an American basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the early years of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He later coached at the high school and college levels.

Howie Shannon

Shannon from the 1943 “Yukka”
Personal information
Born	(1923-06-10)June 10, 1923 Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.
Died	August 16, 1995(1995-08-16) (aged 72) Plano, Texas, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	Munday (Munday, Texas)
College	North Texas (1942–1943) Kansas State (1947–1948)
BAA draft	1949: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Providence Steamrollers
Playing career	1948–1950
Position	Guard / small forward
Number	9, 8
Coaching career	1950–1971
Career history
As player:
1948–1949	Providence Steamrollers
1949–1950	Boston Celtics
As coach:
1950–1954	Topeka HS
1954–1964	Kansas State (assistant)
1964–1971	Virginia Tech
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-American – Helms (1948)
Career statistics
Points	1,323 (10.8 ppg)
Assists	299 (2.5 apg)
Games played	122
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Shannon played college basketball for the North Texas Green and Kansas State Wildcats.[1] After the 1947–48 season with Kansas State, he was ruled ineligible to play by the Big Seven after the conference re-interpreted a rule to count freshman and junior college play against a player's four-year limit of college play. Consequently, Shannon signed a one-year contract to play professionally with the Providence Steamrollers of the BAA.[2][3] He averaged 13.4 points per game in 1948–49 and was named the league's Rookie of the Year, a designation not currently recognized by the NBA for that season. Although he had already signed and played with Providence, the team was still required to select him in the 1949 BAA draft to secure his rights. He was selected with the first overall pick of the draft.[4] However, the Steamrollers would fold their organization before the start of the first season with the NBA name. As a result, his rights were picked up by the Boston Celtics for the 1949-50 NBA season.

Following his playing career, Shannon became head coach at Topeka High School in Kansas, where he coached from 1950 to 1954 before becoming an assistant to Tex Winter at Kansas State.[5] In 1964, Shannon was named head coach of Virginia Tech.[6] Shannon coached the Hokies to a 104–67 record and its best NCAA Tournament finish in 1967, reaching the Mideast Regional final before falling to Dayton. In 1971, Shannon resigned to join Virginia Tech's physical education faculty full-time.[7] Shannon was also coach of the 1960 Puerto Rican basketball team in the 1960 Olympics.[6]

Howie Shannon died of lung cancer on August 16, 1995, in Plano, Texas.[8]