Posted: June 29, 2005
The Phoenix Suns today named Dan D’Antoni, the older brother of 2004-05 NBA Coach of the Year Mike D’Antoni and a 30-year South Carolina high school basketball coach, as an assistant coach.
Dan D’Antoni accumulated over 500 wins as head coach of Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a position he has held since 1975. His club advanced to the regional finals 18 times, including a trip to the 1998 state championship, when the Braves lost to South Aiken by one point on a layup with four-tenths of a second left.
The 57-year-old is the founder of the Beach Ball Classic, one of the most prestigious high school basketball tournaments in the country that has helped launch the careers of NBA All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Grant Hill, Rasheed Wallace and recent NBA draftee Raymond Felton (5th overall to Charlotte) since its debut in 1981.
The Mullens, West Virginia native was a point guard at Marshall University and as a senior in 1969-70, he served as the head coach of the Thundering Herd’s freshman team that included current Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni, and again in 1970-71 as an assistant coach for the varsity team. After a brief stint with the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets, D’Antoni opted to work on other endeavors in 1971 before returning to coaching full-time in 1975.
Basketball is a way of life for the D’Antoni family. In addition to brother Mike, father Lewis was a legendary high school basketball coach in West Virginia and Ohio, and was inducted into West Virginia’s Sports Hall of Fame in May 2004. Dan is also the father of three sons, who all played collegiate basketball: Matt, 28, played at Brown University; Andrew, 25, attended West Point Academy and is now serving in Iraq as a lieutenant in the United States Army; Nick, 23, just completed his senior season at William and Mary, where he was the captain of the basketball team.
The Suns bench coaches remain the same with Marc Iavaroni, Alvin Gentry and Phil Weber. Dan Antoni will accompany the team’s summer league entry in the Reebok Vegas Summer League in Las Vegas, Nevada from July 6-15.