Former Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach Tony Barone Sr. Dies at 72
Former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Tony Barone Sr. died Tuesday at the age of 72.
His son, Tony Barone Jr., confirmed the news to Geoff Calkins of the Daily Memphian.
Barone was named the Grizzlies' interim head coach during the 2006-07 season after the dismissal of Mike Fratello. He guided the team to a 16-36 record across 52 games after spending the previous two years as the NBA franchise's director of player personnel.
The Chicago native spent three seasons as a reserve guard at Duke from 1965 through 1968. He returned to the Blue Devils program in 1972 as an assistant, but not before he went home to his alma mater, St. George High School, to fill a multifaceted role.
"I coached football, basketball, ran the intramural program and ran the bookstore," Barone said, per Calkins. "I was making $6,500 a year and I thought I was a millionaire."
After a stint as an assistant at Bradley, he took his first head coaching job in the collegiate ranks with Creighton in 1985.
He led the Bluejays to a 102-82 record, highlighted by a 24-8 mark in his final year with the program, and two NCAA tournament appearances across six seasons.
Texas A&M hired Barone away from Creighton in 1991, but he was unable to coach the Aggies to any March Madness berths in seven years.
Barone was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
