Dwane Casey

Dwane Casey
Toronto Raptors
Position Head coach
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1957-04-17) April 17, 1957
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight 195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school Union County
(Morganfield, Kentucky)
College Kentucky (1975–1979)
NBA draft 1979 / Undrafted
Coaching career 1979–present
Career history
As coach:
1979–1980 Kentucky (assistant)
1980–1985 Western Kentucky (assistant)
1985–1989 Kentucky (assistant)
1989–1994 Japan (assistant)
1989–1992 Sekisui Chemical
1992–1994 Isuzu Motors Lynx
1994–2005 Seattle SuperSonics (assistant)
2005–2007 Minnesota Timberwolves
2008–2011 Dallas Mavericks (assistant)
2011–present Toronto Raptors
Career highlights and awards
As player
As assistant coach

Dwane Casey (born April 17, 1957) is an American basketball coach. He is the current head coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Casey is also a former NCAA basketball player and coach, having played and coached there for over a decade before moving on to the NBA.[1]

Early years

Casey was born on April 17, 1957 in Indianapolis, Indiana however, his family moved to Morganfield, Kentucky when he was three years old.[2] Casey graduated from Union County High School in 1975.[3]

Casey was a top recruit coming out of high school. He made the decision to commit to the University of Kentucky. During the 1977-78 Wildcats season, Casey helped guide the team to an NCAA Tournament Championship. Casey served as team captain during his senior year. During the summers, Casey worked several odd jobs to support himself. These jobs ranged from coal mining to tobacco farming.[4]

He graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in business administration in 1979, also receiving Kentucky's All-Academic Award that same year.[5]

Coaching

Casey's coaching experience went back to his first coaching job at the age of 13 when Morganfield Baseball Commissioner Earl McKendree allowed the young Casey to coach a Little League team with kids just three years younger than him. Casey began his college coaching career in 1979 due to a suggestion made by his coach Joe B. Hall. Casey spent a season with Hall as an assistant coach at Kentucky. The next season, Casey made the move to Western Kentucky, where he spent the next five seasons. Casey later returned to Kentucky in 1985 where he would take the role of an assistant coach and top recruiter.[6]

In late March 1988 while still serving as an assistant coach at Kentucky, Emery Worldwide employees discovered $1,000 in cash in an envelope that was accidentally opened. The envelope was addressed to Claud Mills, the father of recruit Chris Mills, and the sender was identified as Casey. The University of Kentucky said that the evidence collected during the investigation was inconclusive, and did not prove that Casey sent the money.[7] [8] The scandal resulted in Casey's resignation, and Casey was then placed on probation for 5 years by the NCAA.[9] The NCAA later rescinded the penalty after it was shown that Casey wasn't involved in sending the package.[10] Casey also settled outside of court in a defamation suit against Emery Worldwide. The case was originally for $6.9 million.[11]

After his resignation from Kentucky, Casey accepted a head coaching job in the Japanese Basketball League. During his time there, Casey coached for Sekisui Chemical and Isuzu Motors Lynx. While in Japan, Casey did coaching work for the national team alongside longtime friend Mototaka Kohama and veteran coach Pete Newell.[12]

Casey left the Japanese Basketball League in 1994 after receiving an assistant coaching position for the Seattle SuperSonics. During his tenure in Seattle, the team won 4 division titles.

Casey during a timeout with the Raptors.

During the summers, Casey continued to work with the Japanese national team. In the summer of 1998 the team appeared in the FIBA World Championship basketball tournament, which would be the team's first appearance there in over 30 years.[5]

At the beginning of the 2005–06 NBA season, Casey landed his first job as head coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves, replacing Kevin McHale. Casey's overall record with the team was 53–69, and he was fired on January 23, 2007 after only a season and a half with the Timberwolves.[13] At the time of his firing, the Timberwolves were 20–20, he was replaced by assistant coach Randy Wittman, who went 12–30 for the rest of the season.[14]

During the 2008–09 NBA season Casey served as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks. During the 2009–10 NBA season the Mavericks won a division title. In 2011, the Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals and won their first championship.

In early June 2011, the Toronto Raptors decided not to pick up the option on Jay Triano's contract. Casey was named the new Raptors head coach on June 21 and would run through until the 2013–14 season.[15]

Casey's first two seasons with the Raptors involved little to no success. The team exceeded expectations in the first season and underachieved in the second. The team failed to make the playoffs both seasons. During Casey's third season with the team, it managed to set a new team record for most wins in a season, an Atlantic Division Championship, and its first playoff appearance in six years.

On May 6, 2014, a day after being eliminated from the playoffs, Casey and the Raptors agreed to a three-year contract extension.[16]

On November 1, 2015, Casey surpassed Sam Mitchell's franchise record for wins getting his 157th against Milwaukee Bucks with the score of 106–87.[17]

On March 18, 2016, Casey became the first Raptors head coach to reach 200 wins with the franchise in a win over the Indiana Pacers with the score of 101–94[18] and twelve days later, in a 105–97 win over the Atlanta Hawks, he coached the Raptors to its first 50 win season in franchise history.[19]

On May 1, 2016, Casey coached the Raptors to their first Game 7 victory in franchise history with an 89–84 win over the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs and on May 15, 2016, Casey coached the Raptors to their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in franchise history with a 116–89 victory over the Miami Heat in the second round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. On June 7, he agreed with the Raptors to a contract extension.[20]

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win-loss %
Post season PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win-loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Minnesota 2005–06 823349.4023rd in Northwest———— Missed Playoffs
Minnesota 2006–07 402020.500(fired)———— —
Toronto 2011–12 662343.3484th in Atlantic———— Missed Playoffs
Toronto 2012–13 823448.4155th in Atlantic———— Missed Playoffs
Toronto 2013–14 824834.5851st in Atlantic734.429 Lost in First Round
Toronto 2014–15 824933.5981st in Atlantic404.000 Lost in First Round
Toronto 2015–16 825626.6831st in Atlantic201010.500 Lost in Conf. Finals
Career 516263253.510 311318.419

Personal life

Casey and his family have a home in Seattle, Washington. He and his wife Brenda have two children, Justine and Zachary.[21] During the summers, Casey likes to travel to Japan to help with basketball camps and coaching clinics.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Rhoden, William C. (March 25, 2012). "Dwane Casey Still Roots for Kentucky, for Whom He Took a Fall.". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "UK basketball notebook"
  3. ↑ "UCHS Athletic Hall of Fame"
  4. ↑ "The Man: How Dwane Casey helped reinvent the Raptors"
  5. 1 2 NBA.com Dwane Casey, NBA.com
  6. ↑ "" New York Times
  7. ↑ "Articles about Chris Mills" Orlando Sentinel
  8. ↑ York, Michael. "Kentucky Loves Its Basketball, but Not at Any Price" The Washington Post, 11 December 1988.
  9. ↑ Wolff, Alexander, "Odd Man Out", Sports Illustrated, February 11, 1991
  10. ↑ Sterling, Kent. "Dwane Casey Didn't Do It, the Cautionary Tale of a Post Gone Wrong". March 23, 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Published: October 28, 1990 (1990-10-28). "Sports People; Settlement of Suit – New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  12. ↑ Casey's Skills Honed in the Land of the Rising Sun
  13. ↑ "TIMBERWOLVES: Wolves Relieve Head Coach Dwane Casey of Coaching Duties". Nba.com. 2007-01-23. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  14. ↑ Fantauzzo, Laurel. "Mavs assistant Dwane Casey returns to Minnesota". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  15. ↑ "Raptors Name Dwane Casey Head Coach". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 21, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  16. ↑ Raptors, Casey Agree To Three-Year Deal
  17. ↑ "Dwane Casey sets franchise record with 157th victory".
  18. ↑ "Dwane Casey becomes first Raptors coach to reach 200 wins".
  19. ↑ "Raptors beat Hawks 105-97 to notch first 50-win season". NBA.com. March 30, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Raptors, Casey Agree On Principal Terms For Extension". NBA.com. June 7, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  21. ↑ Published: September 30, 2013 (2013-09-30). "Raptors coach Dwane Casey: On love, regrets and crying at movies – Toronto Star". thestar.com. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  22. ↑ http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/20111129/21133/one-one-dwane-casey-part-two One-On-One With Dwane Casey - Part Two
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