John Douglas (basketball)

John David Douglas (born June 12, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 6'2" (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) guard.

A 6'2" guard, he was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in 1978 (6th round, 118th pick), after playing for Calhoun Community College and the University of Kansas Jayhawks for whom he averaged 18.9 points.

After a couple of years in the Continental Basketball Association, he finally joined the San Diego Clippers, averaging 6.7 points and 2.2 assists in 67 games.

Playing career

College (Kansas)

John Douglas’ collegiate career began at Calhoun Community College where his freshman season saw the Warhawks go 27-3 and a #3 national ranking. After two excellent seasons at Calhoun, where he still holds numerous scoring records, John transferred to the University of Kansas where his record breaking pace continued. His 46 points on the road against Iowa State in 1978 broke the legendary Wilt Chamberlain's record for most points scored by a visiting player in the Big Eight Conference. John went on to earn All Big Eight Honors, Honorable Mention All American, Newcomer of the Year and MVP at KU.

Professional (NBA, CBA and European leagues)

John was drafted into the NBA by the New Orleans Jazz in 1978. He spent two years in the CBA where his team, the Montana Golden Nuggets, played for the championship both years under head coach George Karl. John returned to the NBA to play for the San Diego Clippers in 1981 for two years. After leaving the Clippers, John was drawn to the European Professional Leagues by his brother, Leon Douglas, who was playing in Venice, Italy. John signed with Fortitudo Bologna squad for four years. He also played in Reims, France. John played a major part in helping his teams in Italy and France win championships.

Coaching career

John began his coaching career as an assistant at Calhoun Community College. Before long, he moved into the lead role as head coach. He is only the second coach in the history of Alabama Junior Colleges to have coached in a National Championship game (in 2000). In a basketball publication the following year, the Warhawks were pre-season picked as #2 in the nation; a team that had only been in Division 1 the first year they made their appearance in Hutchinson. A three-time Coach of the Year winner, Coach Douglas was selected to be a court coach with the USA Olympic Team in 2000 after his Calhoun Community College team finished 32-4 and Runner-up in the NJCAA National Tournament.

John has turned around two programs in a short period of time. When he took the job at Lawson State Community College in 2003, he coached the team to a 46-16 record his first two years, finishing 2nd and 1st in conference play. The Lawson State men's basketball program had a record of 8-20 the year prior to his arrival.

In 2009, John took over as head men's basketball coach at Fort Valley State University. He later became an assistant coach to his brother, Leon Douglas, head coach of the Tuskegee University men's basketball team.

John is fluent in English and Italian. The coach currently lives in Auburn, Alabama, with his wife, Xenia and their two kids, Xsuela and GianMarco.

References

1. ACCC Hall of Fame Alabama Community College Conference
2. KU Sports Men's Basketball Scoring Records
3. Basketball-Reference.com Players drafted from University of Kansas
4. Players Who Attended University of Kansas # Basketball Players
5. Rockchalk.com KU Basketball Honors/Awards
6. Rockchalk.com John Douglas' Career Stats
7. Lawson State 2004

External links

• Douglas International at www.douglasintl.com
• Do It Right! Basketball Academy at www.dirbasketball.com
• John Douglas' Career Stats at rockchalk.com
• BolognaBasket.it
• John Douglas statistics at Basketball-

Reference.com