Gary Kloppenburg

Gary Kloppenburg
Personal information
Born (1953-01-06) January 6, 1953 (age 72)
Tulare County, California, U.S.
Career information
High schoolLa Jolla (La Jolla, California)
College
PositionAssistant Coach
Coaching career1983–present
Career history
As coach:
1983–1984Feather River (men's asst.)
1984–1988Feather River (men's)
1988–1993Lassen CC
1993–1999Lassen CC (men's)
1999–2000Panteras de Miranda
2000–2002Seattle Storm (assistant)
2003Phoenix Mercury (assistant)
2004–2007Charlotte Bobcats (assistant)
2008–2011Indiana Fever (assistant)
2012–2013Tulsa Shock
2014Los Angeles Sparks (assistant)
2015–2016Indiana Fever (assistant)
2017–2019Seattle Storm (assistant)
2017Seattle Storm (interim)
2020Seattle Storm
2021Seattle Storm (assistant)
2022Indiana Fever (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Gary Robert Kloppenburg (born January 6, 1953) is an American basketball coach.

Early life and college career

Kloppenburg was born in 1953, when his father Bob Kloppenburg was head coach at Lindsay High School in Lindsay, California.[1][2] When Bob Kloppenburg became head coach of California Western (later U.S. International) University, Gary Kloppenburg later attended La Jolla High School in La Jolla, California, graduating in 1971.[3]

From 1972 to 1974, Gary Kloppenburg attended Feather River College and played on the basketball team.[3] Kloppenburg then played semi-professional basketball in Europe, first with the English National League in 1975–76 then in the Netherlands in 1977.[3] He then returned to the U.S. and enrolled at the University of California, San Diego, where he played on the UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball team in the 1978–79 and 1980–81 seasons.[4] Kloppenburg graduated from UC San Diego in 1981 with a B.A. in Spanish literature.[5]

Coaching career

Kloppenburg began his coaching career as an assistant men's basketball coach at Feather River College. In 1984, Kloppenburg became head coach.[3] From 1988 to 1993, Kloppenburg was head women's basketball coach at Lassen Community College in Susanville, California, where he led the team to two consecutive California Community College Athletic Association titles in 1992 and 1993.[6] From 1993 to 1999, Kloppenburg was head men's basketball coach at Lassen.[6]

Kloppenburg served as an assistant coach with the Seattle Storm from 2000 through 2002 and Phoenix Mercury in 2003. He was an assistant coach of the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association from 2004 to 2007, and an assistant coach of the Indiana Fever from 2008 through 2011[6] and Los Angeles Sparks in 2014.[7]

Kloppenburg improved the Shock during his two-year tenure; nevertheless, he was fired after the 2013 season.

In 2017, Kloppenburg became an assistant for the Seattle Storm. Kloppenburg served as interim head coach on August 10, 2017, after head coach Jenny Boucek was fired.[8] Kloppenburg stayed on the staff under new head coach Dan Hughes. In the 2019 season, Kloppenburg served as interim head coach during the time Hughes was recovering from cancer surgery. On June 29, 2020, Kloppenburg became head coach again after Hughes was determined to be at higher risk of illness from COVID-19.[9]

Coaching record

WNBA

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs 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
Tulsa 2012 34 9 25 .265 5th in West — — — — Missed Playoffs
Tulsa 2013 34 11 23 .324 6th in West — — — — Missed Playoffs
Seattle 2017 8 5 3 .625 5th in West 1 0 1 .000 Lost First Round
Seattle 2020 22 18 4 .818 2nd in West 6 6 0 1.000 Won WNBA Championship
Career 98 43 55 .439 7 6 1 .857

References

  1. ^ "LINDSAY SEQUOIAS SET TO PLAY IOWA COLORED GHOSTS". Lindsay Gazette. Lindsay, California. 9 January 1953. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Nelson, Glenn (November 4, 1993). "Defender Of The Faith". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Coach's Profile". Feather River Bulletin. December 18, 1985. p. 19. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  4. ^ UC San Diego Men's Basketball 2006–07 Media Guide (PDF). UC San Diego. 2006. p. 34. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Basketball Operations Staff Adds Four New Faces". Charlotte Hornets. April 2, 2004. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Coach Bio: Gary Kloppenburg". WNBA. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  7. ^ Gail Goestenkors and Gary Kloppenburg named Los Angeles Sparks assistant coaches for the 2014 season
  8. ^ "Seattle Storm Announces Head Coaching Change, Names Gary Kloppenburg Interim Head Coach". Seattle Storm. August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  9. ^ "Dan Hughes To Miss 2020 Storm Season In Florida". Seattle Storm. June 29, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.