Louis Orr
![]() Orr in 2011 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | May 7, 1958
Died | December 15, 2022 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 64)
Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Withrow (Cincinnati, Ohio) |
College | Syracuse (1976–1980) |
NBA draft | 1980: 2nd round, 29th overall pick |
Selected by the Indiana Pacers | |
Playing career | 1980–1988 |
Position | Power forward / small forward |
Number | 55 |
Coaching career | 1991–2022 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1980–1982 | Indiana Pacers |
1982–1988 | New York Knicks |
As coach: | |
1991–1994 | Xavier (assistant) |
1994–1996 | Providence (assistant) |
1996–2000 | Syracuse (assistant) |
2000–2001 | Siena |
2001–2006 | Seton Hall |
2007–2014 | Bowling Green |
2017–2022 | Georgetown (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As head coach:
| |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Louis McLaughlin Orr (May 7, 1958 – December 15, 2022) was an American basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and became a college basketball coach. Orr was the head coach at Bowling Green State University from 2007–2014[1] and at Seton Hall from 2001 until 2006. He was formerly an assistant at Xavier University, Providence College and his alma mater Syracuse University, before getting his first head coaching job at Siena College. He was also an assistant coach at Georgetown under his former New York Knicks teammate Patrick Ewing.[2]
Playing career
[edit]Orr attended Withrow High School where he was coached by Charles Cadle. Orr was recruited by Jim Boeheim as part of his first recruiting class to play at Syracuse University from 1976 to 1980,[3] and was part of the famed "Louie & Bouie Show" with teammate Roosevelt Bouie.[4] The duo was named so after the student newspaper The Daily Orange ran a caricature of them heading up the basketball court in tuxedos and top hats.[5] During his four years, the Orangemen had a 100-18 record. Orr scored 1,487 points, helping team to four NCAA tournament appearances.
After graduating from Syracuse in 1980, he was the 28th pick in the 1980 NBA draft, selected by the Indiana Pacers. Orr played two seasons with the Pacers, which included a playoff appearance his rookie season, during which Orr averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals a game in a first round loss against the Philadelphia 76ers.[6] After that, he moved on to the New York Knicks, and played for six years, with three overall playoff berths. Orr averaged career highs in points and rebounds for the Knicks, with 12.7 and 4.9, respectively, in the 1984–85 season.[7] On January 20, 1987, Orr scored 8 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, recorded 6 assists, and hit a game-winning three point shot as time expired in a 111-109 win over the Boston Celtics.[8] He scored over 5,500 career points as a pro.
Coaching career
[edit]He got his first assistant coaching job in 1990 with Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio, the city where Orr was from. Then, in 1994, he began serving under Pete Gillen at Providence and soon he was an assistant under Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse Orangemen. During his tenure there, he rose to become a noted assistant, and helped them to a 92–40 record in that time. Syracuse reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament twice during Orr's time there.
Siena
[edit]In 2000, Orr received his first head coaching job, accepting the position as head coach of the men's basketball team at Siena College. In his lone year at Siena, Orr led the Saints to a three-way tie for first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and a 20–11 record, the best ever for a first-year Siena coach. Siena broke many attendance records that year as well.
Seton Hall
[edit]Orr became the first former Big East player to become a head coach in the conference after he was hired in 2001 by Seton Hall after Tommy Amaker left to become the head coach at Michigan. In his first year in the Big East Conference, Orr went 12–18, but was noted for playing Duke very close in the Maui Invitational.
By his fifth season at Seton Hall, Orr had led the Pirates to two NCAA Tournaments in three years. In the 2004 NCAA tournament, Seton Hall defeated the 9th seed Arizona in the first round before falling to 1st seed Duke in the second round. During the 2005–06 season, Orr led Seton Hall to a 9–7 record in the Big East and an 18–12 record overall. Seton Hall was seeded 10th in the 2006 NCAA tournament and played the 7th seed Wichita State, falling 86–66. Although Orr had made the NCAA tournament twice and the NIT once in his five seasons at Seton Hall, concerns about lackluster recruiting resulted in his firing after the 2005–06 season with a record of 80–69.
Bowling Green
[edit]After sitting out from coaching for a season, Orr was hired to become the men's basketball coach at Bowling Green State University, replacing former head coach Dan Dakich whose contract was not renewed by Bowling Green after ten seasons. In his first season at Bowling Green, Orr posted a 13–17 overall record and 7–9 record in the MAC, finishing 5th in the East Division. The following season, Orr led Bowling Green to their 10th MAC regular season title after the Falcons posted an 11–5 conference record. Although the top seed in the conference tournament, Bowling Green would fall in the tournament semifinals to eventual champion Akron. As the MAC regular season champion, Bowling Green received an automatic bid to the 2009 National Invitation Tournament. Bowling Green was the 8th seed in bracket 3 and played at the bracket's top seed Creighton. Bowling Green made a strong comeback, but fell short, losing to Creighton 73–71 in their first-round game. Orr was named the MAC Coach of the Year for Bowling Green's performance during the 2008–09 season.
On March 11, 2014 Bowling Green announced that it would not renew Orr's contract. Orr was 101–121 in seven seasons, including a record of 54–60 in Mid-American Conference play.
Death
[edit]On December 15, 2022, Orr died of melanoma at his home in Cincinnati at the age of 64.[3][9][10]
Career statistics
[edit]NBA
[edit]GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Source[11]
Regular season
[edit]Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1980–81 | Indiana | 82 | 21.8 | .491 | .000 | .807 | 4.4 | 1.6 | .7 | .3 | 10.5 | |
1981–82 | Indiana | 80 | 41 | 24.4 | .497 | .125 | .799 | 4.1 | 1.7 | .7 | .3 | 11.5 |
1982–83 | New York | 82 | 14 | 20.3 | .462 | .000 | .800 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .8 | .3 | 8.4 |
1983–84 | New York | 78 | 20 | 21.0 | .458 | – | .820 | 2.9 | .8 | .8 | .2 | 8.9 |
1984–85 | New York | 79 | 31 | 31.0 | .486 | .100 | .784 | 4.9 | 1.7 | 1.3 | .3 | 12.7 |
1985–86 | New York | 74 | 64 | 30.2 | .445 | .000 | .784 | 4.2 | 2.4 | .8 | .4 | 11.9 |
1986–87 | New York | 65 | 8 | 22.2 | .427 | .200 | .727 | 3.6 | 1.7 | .7 | .3 | 7.0 |
1987–88 | New York | 29 | 0 | 6.2 | .320 | .000 | .500 | 1.2 | .3 | .2 | .0 | 1.4 |
Career | 569 | 178 | 23.5 | .468 | .083 | .787 | 3.7 | 1.5 | .8 | .3 | 9.7 |
Playoffs
[edit]Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | Indiana | 2 | 28.0 | .360 | – | .857 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | .5 | 12.0 | |
1983 | New York | 6 | 17.5 | .383 | – | 1.000 | 3.5 | .5 | .8 | .7 | 7.7 | |
1984 | New York | 12 | 18.1 | .414 | – | .789 | 4.2 | .5 | .3 | .1 | 6.1 | |
1988 | New York | 2 | 0 | 1.5 | .000 | – | .500 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .5 |
Career | 22 | 0 | 17.9 | .392 | – | .842 | 3.8 | .6 | .6 | .3 | 6.5 |
Head coaching record
[edit]Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Siena Saints (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2000–2001) | |||||||||
2000–01 | Siena | 20–11 | 12–6 | T–1st | |||||
Siena: | 20–11 (.645) | 12–6 (.667) | |||||||
Seton Hall Pirates (Big East Conference) (2001–2006) | |||||||||
2001–02 | Seton Hall | 12–18 | 5–11 | 6th (West) | |||||
2002–03 | Seton Hall | 17–13 | 10–6 | T–3rd (West) | NIT First Round | ||||
2003–04 | Seton Hall | 21–10 | 10–6 | T–5th | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2004–05 | Seton Hall | 12–16 | 4–12 | T–9th | |||||
2005–06 | Seton Hall | 18–12 | 9–7 | 7th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
Seton Hall: | 80–69 (.537) | 38–42 (.475) | |||||||
Bowling Green Falcons (Mid-American Conference) (2007–2014) | |||||||||
2007–08 | Bowling Green | 13–17 | 7–9 | 5th (East) | |||||
2008–09 | Bowling Green | 19–14 | 11–5 | T–1st (East) | NIT First Round | ||||
2009–10 | Bowling Green | 14–16 | 6–10 | 6th (East) | |||||
2010–11 | Bowling Green | 14–19 | 8–8 | T–5th (East) | |||||
2011–12 | Bowling Green | 16–16 | 9–7 | 6th (East) | CIT First Round | ||||
2012–13 | Bowling Green | 13–19 | 7–9 | T–4th (East) | |||||
2013–14 | Bowling Green | 12–20 | 6–12 | 6th (East) | |||||
Bowling Green: | 101–121 (.455) | 54–60 (.474) | |||||||
Total: | 201–201 (.500) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
References
[edit]- ^ "Change in Direction of Men's Basketball Program Announced". Bowling Green State University Athletics.
- ^ Wallace, Ava (June 26, 2017). "Georgetown basketball Coach Patrick Ewing announces assistants". Washington Post. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Waters, Mike (December 16, 2022). "Louis Orr, former Syracuse basketball great, has died at 64". syracuse.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ Waters, Mike (December 16, 2022). "Boeheim on Orr: 'He had the biggest heart of anybody I've ever coached'". Syracuse Post-Standard. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ Pitoniak, Scott (October 6, 2006). "Louie and Bouie Show' reunited this weekend". Democrat and Chronicle. pp. 26, 30 (1D, 5D). Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- ^ "1980-81 Indiana Pacers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Louis Orr Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ Johnson, Roy S. (January 20, 1987). "ORR IS IMPROBABLE HERO WITH HIS SHOT AT BUZZER". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Traub, Alex (December 18, 2022). "Louis Orr, 64, Dies; Syracuse Star, Knicks Forward and a Coach". The New York Times.
- ^ McAllister, Mike (December 16, 2022). "Louis Orr Has Passed Away at Age 64". All Syracuse. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ "Louis Orr". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- Orangehoops.org with an Orr profile
- Bowling Green profile