Hall of Famer, former Knicks All-Star McGuire dies
Dick McGuire, part of a basketball Hall of Fame family and longtime
member of the New York Knicks organization, died Wednesday of
natural causes. He was 84.
The Knicks said McGuire died at Huntington Hospital in Long
Island. McGuire, whose brother Al coached Marquette to an NCAA
title and is also in the Hall of Fame, still worked for the Knicks
as a senior basketball consultant.
Dick McGuire was a part of the Knicks' organization for 53 of
its 64 seasons, doing everything from finding the open man to
finding future All-Stars. He was Hall of Famer Walt Frazier and
Phil Jackson's first NBA coach, and was responsible for the
drafting of Mark Jackson, who would later pass him on the team's
career assists list.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh said Dick McGuire's name was
probably the first in the NBA he knew growing up, and would later
come to rely on his knowledge as a respected talent evaluator.
"He's been a part of this, almost like the bricks, and so I
don't know of anybody else in the league that I can say that about
in the same way," Walsh said. "So it's a terrible loss for us."
McGuire had still been traveling to scout college games in
recent years. Walsh named the team's legacy award after McGuire
last year.
"Me coming in here in the last year and a half and seeing
Dick more often then I would before, I'm going to miss that," Walsh
said. "He always had a great opinion, I thought, because he knew
what it took to win in this league, he knew what it took to play in
this league."
A Bronx native, McGuire was a five-time All-Star and led the
Knicks to three straight NBA finals from 1951-53. He went on to
serve the team as a coach, assistant coach and scout. His No. 15
was retired in 1992 and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial
Hall of Fame a year later.
McGuire still ranks third on the Knicks' career list with
2,950 assists.
"As one of its first superstars, Dick was instrumental to the
early success of the NBA," commissioner David Stern said in a
statement. "Whether as player, coach, scout or consultant, Dick
loyally served the New York Knicks organization."
Nicknamed "Tricky Dick," McGuire was born Jan. 26, 1926, in
New York. He played in college at St. John's and was picked by the
Knicks in the first round of the 1949 draft. He played eight
seasons for the team before he was traded to Detroit on April 3,
1957, for a first-round pick. McGuire spent his final three seasons
with the Pistons.
"Dick was one of a kind," former St. John's coach Lou
Carnesecca said. "He was a great ballplayer and coach and a better
human being. All of basketball is going to miss him."
McGuire is survived by his wife, Teri, four children and
seven grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.