Jan van Breda Kolff

For the Dutch footballer, see Jan van Breda Kolff (footballer).

Jan van Breda Kolff
Personal information
Born (1951-12-16) December 16, 1951 (age 72)
Palos Verdes, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolPalos Verdes
(Palos Verdes, California)
CollegeVanderbilt (1971–1974)
NBA draft1974: 2nd round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career1974–1985
PositionSmall forward
Number32, 5, 20, 22
Career history
As player:
1974–1975Denver Nuggets
1975–1976Virginia Squires
1976Kentucky Colonels
1976–1983New York / New Jersey Nets
1983–1985Granarolo Bologna
As coach:
1983–1985Granarolo Bologna (player coach)
1985–1991Princeton (assistant)
1991–1993Cornell
1993–1999Vanderbilt
1999–2001Pepperdine
2001–2003St. Bonaventure
2003–2004New Orleans Hornets (assistant)
2008–2010Nashville Broncos / Music City Stars
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

  • WCC regular season champion (2000)
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points3,696 (6.2 ppg)
Rebounds2,572 (4.3 rpg)
Assists1,178 (2.0 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Jan van Breda Kolff (born December 16, 1951) is an American former college and professional basketball player and college basketball head coach. The son of coach Butch van Breda Kolff and grandson of Dutch soccer player Jan van Breda Kolff, he played from 1974 to 1976 for the Denver Nuggets, Kentucky Colonels, and Virginia Squires in the American Basketball Association, and the New York/New Jersey Nets in the National Basketball Association. From 1970 to 1974 he played for Vanderbilt University, and in 1974 he led the Commodores to a Southeastern Conference championship as SEC Player of the Year.[1]

He also spent two years in Italy, from 1983 to 1985, helping Italian team Virtus Bologna win a championship.

Coaching career

Van Breda Kolff was a player coach while playing in Italy. Then he became an assistant coach at Princeton in either 1985 or 1987.[2][3]

Van Breda Kolff's tenure at St. Bonaventure ended abruptly in controversy late in the 2002–03 season. St. Bonaventure declared junior college transfer Jamil Terrell eligible to play without sitting out a year (as he would have been under NCAA rules if he had earned an associate degree), even though Terrell had only earned a welding certificate. Athletic director Gothard Lane had told school president Robert Wickenheiser that Terrell was ineligible to play that year. However, Wickenheiser, under prodding from his son Kort, who was also one of Van Breda Kolff's assistants, unilaterally declared Terrell eligible. School officials didn't seek guidance from the NCAA about Terrell's eligibility until the 2002–03 season was nearly over. The Bonnies were forced to forfeit every game in which Terrell played, and were also barred from the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. In protest, the Bonnies players opted to sit out the last two games.[4][5] Van Breda Kolff denied knowing about the scandal and was cleared of wrongdoing.[6]

On April 25, 2007, he was named as one of three finalists to become the new head coach of UC Riverside's men's basketball program.

Van Breda Kolff was named coach of the Nashville Broncos of the American Basketball Association in 2008. He stayed with the team through its name change to the Music City Stars but lost his job when the team disbanded in 2010.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Cornell Big Red (Ivy League) (1991–1993)
1991–92 Cornell 7–19 5–9 5th
1992–93 Cornell 16–10 9–5 3rd
Cornell: 23–29 (.442) 14–14 (.500)
Vanderbilt Commodores (Southeastern Conference) (1993–1999)
1993–94 Vanderbilt 20–12 9–7 3rd NIT Runner-up
1994–95 Vanderbilt 13–15 6–10 4th
1995–96 Vanderbilt 19–12 7–9 4th NIT Second Round
1996–97 Vanderbilt 18–14 9–7 4th NCAA Division I First Round
1997–98 Vanderbilt 20–13 7–9 T–4th NIT Quarterfinal
1998–99 Vanderbilt 14–15 5–11 5th
Vanderbilt: 104–81 (.562) 43–53 (.448)
Pepperdine Waves (West Coast Conference) (1999–2001)
1999–00 Pepperdine 25–9 12–2 1st NCAA Division I Second Round
2000–01 Pepperdine 22–9 12–2 2nd NIT Second Round
Pepperdine: 47–18 (.723) 24–4 (.857)
St. Bonaventure Bonnies (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2001–2003)
2001–02 St. Bonaventure 17–13 8–8 6th NIT Second Round
2002–03 St. Bonaventure 13–14 7–9 7th
St. Bonaventure: 30–27 (.526) 15–17 (.469)
Total: 204–155 (.568)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ "About Coach Jan van Breda Kolff". Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2006.
  2. ^ Branam, Chris (April 18, 1999). "PEPPERDINE PICKS VAN BREDA KOLFF; FORMER VANDERBILT COACH TO BE INTRODUCED THIS WEEK: [VALLEY Edition]". Los Angeles Daily News. p. S3. ProQuest 281815979. Retrieved February 8, 2024. Jan van Breda Kolff began his coaching career as a player-coach in Italy's professional league from 1983-85. He was an assistant at Princeton from 1987-91
  3. ^ Marcus, Steve (January 11, 1993). "VBK vs. VBK Jan, dad brace for coaches' collision: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]". Newsday. p. 77. ProQuest 278580625. Retrieved February 8, 2024. He did some sports broadcasting after his playing days, then became an assistant to Pete Carril at Princeton from 1985-'91
  4. ^ Weiss, Dick. Bona AD: wronged for doing right. New York Daily News, April 19, 2003.
  5. ^ 2004 infraction report
  6. ^ "Jan Van Breda Kolff's Winning Record Is Tarnished by One Failure". New York Times. May 2, 2009. Retrieved July 31, 2010.