Mike Fratello

Michael Robert " Mike" Fratello ( born February 24, 1947 in Hackensack, New Jersey) is an American basketball coach, who can look back on a long career in the most highly endowed professional league NBA. He was the NBA Coach of the Year 1985/86 and is counted with 667 victories in 1,215 games as a coach in charge of the 20 coaches in the NBA with the most wins and most applications. After the end of his involvement with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006 Fratello worked as a television analyst for basketball games, what he had previously done so in unsigned times. In 2011 he was appointed coach of the Ukrainian Mr selection, which he supervised in the summer months in the U.S. "Off - Season" at international matches.

Career

During his school years at the local high school in Hackensack, he was active in various sports teams and went to study at the Montclair State College in the same place his U.S. home state. At college, he was primarily active in the American football team of the University. After finishing his studies, he returned in 1969 as an assistant coach the school teams in American football and basketball at his high school back. After a year he went to the University of Rhode Iceland, where he worked as assistant coach of the Rams basketball team in the NCAA Division I. After two years he joined in 1972 in the same position at the James Madison University in Harrisonburg ( Virginia). Another three years later he went to Villanova University in Philadelphia, where he worked as an assistant to Rollie Massimino, the high school team in 1978 Wildcats to their first Conference Championship in the Atlantic 10 Conference led. In the nationwide NCAA finals the Wildcats reached after seven years for the first time the quarter-final round " Elite Eight ". After these three years Fratello got the offer to work in the professional league NBA.

In 1978, Fratello as assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks in the most successful professional basketball league NBA, where he worked under head coach Hubie Brown, who had previously become the NBA Coach of the Year 1977/78. End of the season the NBA 1980/81, however, Brown was fired and Fratello took over for the remaining three games of the season. However, Kevin Loughery was the new head coach for the following season and Fratello first worked on as an assistant before Brown took him at his new job as head coach of the New York Knicks again as his assistant to New York. After a year with the Knicks, however Lougherys was time for the Hawks to an end and the Hawks picked Fratello as head coach back to Atlanta. Fratellos start as head coach for the Hawks was bumpy. His predecessor Loughery had presented positive season balances with play-off appearances and Fratello succeeded in his first season as a responsible coach in the NBA 1983/84, although the way into the play-offs, but the negative seasonal balance deteriorated in the following season yet and the Hawks missed this time a place in the final round. In addition, the franchise suffered from a lack of interest in Atlanta and had twelve home games sold to New Orleans. In the NBA 1985/86 Fratello managed to turn and he led the Hawks with star player Dominique Wilkins and the young players Doc Rivers, Kevin Willis, Antoine Carr and "Rookie " Spud Webb for the best record in six years, with 50 victories, giving him the coach of the Year award as the NBA earned. In the play-offs, they lost in the second round against the eventual "champion" Boston Celtics. In the NBA 1986/87 even reach 57 wins in the regular season, which was the best record this season the Hawks in the NBA to date, and the title of the old Central Division. As second in the Eastern Conference but would retire again in the second play-off round against the new emerging champion team from Detroit Pistons, who had been a year earlier still defeated in the first round.

In the NBA 1987/88 was achieved in the " Regular Season " again 50 wins and difference this time in the second play-off round against the Boston Celtics again, this time just in seven games out. After 52 wins in the NBA 1988/89 was in the first play-off round against the Milwaukee Bucks last stop. In the NBA 1989/90 they reached only a balanced record of 41 wins in 82 games and missed the play-offs. Fratellos time with the Hawks ended and during the following three years he worked with Marv Albert as a television analyst for NBC Networks. 1993 obliged him the Cleveland Cavaliers as head coach after previous Lenny Wilkens was changed to the Hawks. In the NBA 1993/94 Fratello came with 47 victories at Wilkens successful two seasons previously not match and lost in the first play-off round against defending champion Chicago Bulls. The following two seasons, they lost in the first round against the New York Knicks. In the NBA 1996/97 season a slightly positive balance of 42 wins in 82 games was not enough for making the play -offs. When the Cavaliers to Fratello was confronted with the task of having to replace aging star players like Mark Price, John Williams and Michael Cage. In the NBA 1997/98 is returned to 47 wins again in the play-offs back. In the shortened NBA 1998/99 it was not enough to move into the play-offs and Fratello had to take his hat. Subsequently, the Cavaliers continuously deteriorated to the acquisition of LeBron James.

In 2004, Hubie Brown for health reasons his post with the Memphis Grizzlies on after he was previously again become coach of the year in the NBA in the year after the first play-off participation in the history of the Grizzlies. After a short interim Mike Fratello was his successor, and could again lead the Grizzlies after a moderate start to the season in the play-offs, but where, as in the previous year once again without a win in the first round was the last stop. The following NBA 2005/ 06 is increased to 49 wins this season, but in the first play-off round they stayed for the third time in a row without a win and was eliminated by eventual finalists Dallas Mavericks. After a disastrous start to the season in the NBA 2006/ 07 with only six wins Fratello was fired as coach in 30 games. In eleven playoff appearances in 16 NBA seasons as a responsible coach, he never came with his teams beyond the second round, although it may have respectable statistical numbers with a winning percentage of just under 55 % of all games. After the end of his coaching career in the NBA Fratello again worked as a television commentator on the side of Marv Albert at TNT, whose owner Ted Turner from 1977 to 1995 also controlled by him and companies owned the Atlanta Hawks.

After Fratello with Alexander Volkov at the Hawks, Vitaly Potapenko with the Cavaliers and Serhiy Lischtschuk, who had been 2004 " drafted " from the Grizzlies, already knew three Ukrainians personally, he was still somewhat surprising appointed head coach of the Ukrainian national team of Men 2011. With the Ukrainian selection Fratello slipped even in the field of participants of the extended final round of the European basketball championship in 2011, in which one, however, in the first round won only two games. The defeat with 16 points difference against Georgia proved in a triple comparison between these two teams and Bulgaria as too great a burden to feed the next round. Two years later Fratello is doing with Ukraine in the European Championship finals in 2013 a new attempt to advance into the top European teams or even to qualify for the FIBA World Championship to reach 2014.