Former Bulls, Lakers Coach Fred 'Tex' Winter Dies at Age 96
Former NBA and NCAA basketball coach Fred "Tex" Winter died Wednesday at the age of 96 years old, the Chicago Bulls confirmed (h/t ESPN.com).
Kansas State, where Winter spent 15 years as a head coach, provided a tribute to the coach:
The coach spent over 30 years at the college level before moving on to the NBA, notably serving as an assistant coach with the Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers under Phil Jackson.
He helped pioneer the triangle offense, which helped Michael Jordan and the Bulls win six championships in the 1990s. Jordan had kind words about Winter Wednesday, via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:
He was also on staff for three titles with the Lakers. This came after beginning his NBA career with the Houston Rockets, where he produced a 51-78 record in two seasons as a head coach.
Prior to his time at the professional level, Winter was the youngest coach in college basketball when he was hired by Marquette at 30 years old. He moved on to coach for Kansas State, where he took the team to two Final Fours, along with Washington, Northwestern and Long Beach State.
Altogether, Winter produced a 451-336 record across 30 seasons with five different programs.
He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
