Jerry Pimm

Jerry Pimm
Pimm circa 1974
Playing career
1957–1960USC
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1960–1961USC (assistant)
1961–1974Utah (assistant)
1974–1983Utah
1983–1998UC Santa Barbara
Head coaching record
Overall395–288
Tournaments6–7 (NCAA Division I)
0–3 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3 WAC regular season (1977, 1981, 1983)
Awards
Second-team All-AAWU (1960)

Jerry Pimm is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Utah from 1974 to 1983 and the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1983 to 1998, compiling career college basketball coaching record of 395–288.

Playing career

Playing for Montebello High School, Pimm earned the Helms Athletic Foundation's Central Section co-high school player of the year in 1956.[1] He played at Fullerton Junior College in 1956-1958. He then played guard at the University of Southern California, where he earned second-team All-Athletic Association of Western Universities and All-Coast Team honors in 1960.[2][3]

Coaching career

Pimm replaced former Utah coach Bill Foster, who had accepted the same position with the Duke University Blue Devils, in 1974 after serving 13 years as an assistant coach under Jack Gardner and Foster.[3] As coach of the Utes, Pimm led Utah to a 173-86 (.668) record, including four Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA tournament. The Utes also won 3 Western Athletic Conference basketball titles and only had one losing season during his stay. In 1981, the Utes lost to eventual champion North Carolina, led by Sam Perkins, Al Wood, and James Worthy. The Utes were led by Danny Vranes, Tom Chambers and Karl Bankowski. In the 1983 NCAA Men's basketball tournament, Pimm's Utes were seeded 10th in the west regional, but led by Peter Williams and Pace Mannion, Utah upset 7th seed Illinois and 2nd seed UCLA before losing to eventual champion North Carolina State. After the season, Pimm decided to leave the University of Utah for the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Prior to Pimm's career at UCSB, the Gauchos program had suffered through seven straight losing seasons. After a shaky start, which saw three more losing seasons, the Gauchos turned it around in the 1986-87 season, where they finished with a 16-13 record. The next season would be Pimm's best at UCSB. Led by conference player of the year Brian Shaw, the Gauchos went 22-8, including an 18-point win over Jim Valvano's North Carolina State team (with Chucky Brown, Charles Shackleford, and Vinny Del Negro), and two wins over Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV Runnin' Rebels (the second win coming when UNLV was ranked #2). UCSB earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth, but they lost to the University of Maryland in the first round, 92-82.

In 1990, UCSB once again made the NCAA Tournament (propelled by a 78-70 win over top-ranked and eventual national champion UNLV), this time beating the University of Houston 70-66 in the first round before falling to #1 seed Michigan State 62-58 points in the 2nd round. Under Pimm, UCSB also played in three National Invitation Tournaments. In the mid-late 90s, UCSB had suffered through five straight losing seasons, and Pimm resigned, although he later took a job with the athletic department. Pimm went 217-187 (.537) in 16 seasons with the Gauchos. He holds an all-time record of 390-273 (.588) in 25 years as a head coach.

Pimm assisted Lute Olson with the US national team at the 1986 Goodwill Games and the 1986 FIBA World Championship, winning the gold medal both times.[4]

Jamie Dixon and Ben Howland both were assistant coaches for Pimm while at UCSB.[5][6]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Utah Utes (Western Athletic Conference) (1974–1983)
1974–75 Utah 17–9 7–5 4th
1975–76 Utah 19–8 9–5 T–2nd
1976–77 Utah 22–7 11–3 1st NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1977–78 Utah 23–6 12–2 2nd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1978–79 Utah 20–10 9–3 2nd NCAA Division I First Round
1979–80 Utah 18–10 10–4 T–2nd
1980–81 Utah 25–5 13–3 T–1st NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1981–82 Utah 11–17 6–10 7th
1982–83 Utah 18–14 11–5 T–1st NCAA Division I Sweet 16
Utah: 173–86 88–40
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (Pacific Coast Athletic Association / Big West Conference) (1983–1998)
1983–84 UC Santa Barbara 10–17 5–13 9th
1984–85 UC Santa Barbara 12–16 8–10 T–6th
1985–86 UC Santa Barbara 12–15 7–11 9th
1986–87 UC Santa Barbara 16–13 10–8 T–2nd
1987–88 UC Santa Barbara 22–8 13–5 T–2nd NCAA Division I First Round
1988–89 UC Santa Barbara 21–9 11–7 3rd NIT First Round
1989–90 UC Santa Barbara 21–9 13–5 T–2nd NCAA Division I Second Round
1990–91 UC Santa Barbara 14–15 8–10 T–4th
1991–92 UC Santa Barbara 20–9 13–5 2nd NIT First Round
1992–93 UC Santa Barbara 18–11 10–8 T–5th NIT First Round
1993–94 UC Santa Barbara 13–17 9–9 7th
1994–95 UC Santa Barbara 13–14 8–10 6th
1995–96 UC Santa Barbara 11–15 8–10 T–7th
1996–97 UC Santa Barbara 12–15 7–9 3rd (Western)
1997–98 UC Santa Barbara 7–19 4–12 6th (Western)
UC Santa Barbara: 222–202 134–132
Total: 395–288

      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. ^ "Jerry Pimm, Montelbello, and Jim Hanna, Poly Long Beach, Selected Co-players of Year in C.I.F. Basketball Central Section, for '56" (pdf). Helms Athletic Foundation. March 20, 1956. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  2. ^ "Rudometkin repeats as scoring king". Redlands Daily Facts. UPI. March 15, 1962. p. 11. Retrieved December 26, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ a b "Jerry Pimm Named Utah Court Coach". Reading Eagle. March 31, 1974. Retrieved December 21, 2015 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ "All-Time USA Basketball Men's Teams Assistant Coaches". USA Basketball. November 3, 2015. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  5. ^ "Up Close: Jamie Dixon". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 16, 2003. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  6. ^ "Ben Howland, Head Coach". UCLA Athletics. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015. Howland served as an assistant coach at the UC Santa Barbara for 12 years (1982-83 through 1993-94).