Pacers Remember Ramsay
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowExecutives with the Indiana Pacers are remembering a former head coach and basketball Hall-of-Famer as a great coach and better man. Dr. Jack Ramsay guided the team to its first NBA playoff victory in the 1986-87 season. He died Monday. Ramsay was 89. April 28, 2014
Statements From Pacers Executives
Owner Herb Simon:
“The Indiana Pacers express their sincerest sorrow at the passing of Dr. Jack Ramsay. When my brother, Melvin, and I bought the Pacers he was one of our first coaches and took us to our first NBA Playoff series. Jack was a good, humble man who gave us our first taste of success in the NBA. This is a loss for the sport of basketball, not just the Pacers. We send our condolences to his family, in particular his daughter, Sharon, who became part of our family when her husband, Jim, coached the Pacers.”
President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird:
“Jack was a great man and I don’t use that term lightly. His contributions to the game, as a coach, advisor, broadcaster will endure forever. I remember talking to Jack, either in Florida, or when he came to our training camp when Jim O’Brien was the coach. I always learned something from him. This is a sad day for all of us in basketball and a sad day for anyone who knew Jack.”
Consultant, Basketball Operations, Donnie Walsh:
“He was the first coach I hired with the Pacers. He was a wonderful choice, got us in the playoffs for the second time in our NBA history and got us our first NBA Playoff victory. During his time, we drafted Rik Smits and Reggie Miller and he was a tremendous teacher, a master, for young players like those two, helping them get off to a great start in their careers. I knew he was a great coach, but once I got to know him, he was a better man. I will miss him a lot, as will the rest of the NBA.”
Source: Indiana Pacers