Kevin Mackey
Encyclopedia
Kevin Mackey is a former head coach of men's basketball
at Cleveland State University
. Although several low moments of his life were made public, Mackey was also a popular symbol of success when his CSU Vikings
upset the Indiana Hoosiers
to make the Sweet 16 in the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
. He is also known for discovering future NBA player Manute Bol
.
under Dr. Tom Davis and Gary Williams
in the early days of the Big East Conference
. He was well known as a top recruiter, and was well known for landing inner-city prospects.
appearances and averaged more than 20 wins per season. His best team was the 1985-86 unit, which won a school-record 29 games and advanced all the way to the Sweet 16—becoming the first #14 seed to advance that far. It was also the first postseason bid of any sort in the program's 57-year history. Before his first round game against Indiana
, he went up to Bobby Knight
saying, "Take it easy on me, big guy." Knight exploded, knowing Cleveland State would likely give the Hoosiers all they could handle with its "run n' stun" style. He became a celebrity in northeastern Ohio, with the local press dubbing him "the King of Cleveland." Cleveland State used the money from the 1986 NCAA run to build what is now the Wolstein Center
.
Earlier in 1985, Mackey invited Bol to Cleveland after seeing him in action with a Sudanese team that was touring the United States. However, Bol didn't speak or write English very well at the time. He was unable to improve his English-language skills after months of English language classes at ELS Language Centers
on the Case Western Reserve University
campus, and never played a game for Cleveland State. Five years later, Cleveland State was placed on two years' probation for providing improper financial assistance to Bol and two other African players. They were also banned from Mid-Continent conference play for the duration of the probation.
Even with the probation, Mackey still reckoned as a rising star in the collegiate ranks. Cleveland State knew this, and signed him to a two-year, $300,000 contract in July 1990 (US$ in dollars). However, on July 13—only a few days after he signed his contract—Cleveland police, pulled him over after he drove left of center. He was arrested for driving under the influence
and having an open container. It subsequently emerged that he'd sprayed his mouth with a breath spray before taking a Breathalyzer
test at the police station. Since breath spray can alter the results of Breathalyzer tests, police took a urine sample, which revealed traces of cocaine
.
The Wednesday after his arrest, Mackey held a press conference in which he acknowledged a long-running problem with substance abuse. He also announced that he planned to go into rehab
, and his lawyer asked Cleveland State to let him go on a leave of absence so he could complete it. However, Cleveland State refused to do so and fired him only a few days after signing his contract. Mackey subsequently pleaded no contest
and in lieu of prosecution, he was ordered confined to a rehabilitation center for 60 days.
In 2009, Mackey told the New York Times that at the time of his arrest, he'd been an alcoholic for many years and had begun using cocaine shortly after the 1986 NCAA Tournament. He said that he thought he was able to control it, and didn't realize how serious the problem was until his arrest. However, he has remained sober for over 20 years. Many of Mackey's former players later said that they learned from Mackey's experience and how it humbled him. He remains very much in the good graces of Cleveland State fans. During the 20-year reunion of the 1986 Cinderella run, Mackey received a standing ovation.
, and then went on to a successful career in minor league basketball. In 1991, he was a mid-season replacement coach for the Miami Tropics
of the United States Basketball League
and led the team to the title game. In 1996 he coached the Portland (Maine) Mountain Cats to the Final Four of the USBL. Following his stint with the Mountain Cats, Mackey captured three consecutive USBL Championships, with the Atlantic City Seagulls, something no other coach in the USBL has done.
He also coached Trenton New Jersey of the I.B.C., Jacksonville of the USBL and was National Director of Scouting for Hoops Global and Director of Player Personnel for Pro Basketball USA. In 1999, he again surfaced as a head coach, this time in professional basketball where he led the Mansfield Hawks
to the International Basketball Association
championship in his first season.
In 2004, Mackey was hired as a scout for the Indiana Pacers
of the NBA. Pacers basketball operations president Larry Bird
, whose early days with the Boston Celtics
coincided with Mackey's tenure at Boston College, had long admired Mackey. He'd originally gotten in touch with Mackey in 2002 during his abortive bid for what became the Charlotte Bobcats
. Mackey is still with the team as of the 2009-10 season.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
at Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...
. Although several low moments of his life were made public, Mackey was also a popular symbol of success when his CSU Vikings
Cleveland State Vikings
The Cleveland State Vikings, or Vikes, are the athletic teams of Cleveland State University. Before as Fenn College they were known as the Fenn College Foxes or Fenn Foxes. Cleveland State competes in NCAA Division I. They have been a member of the NCAA Division I since 1972. They were previously...
upset the Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers are the athletic teams for the Bloomington campus of Indiana University . Athletic teams sponsored by IU Bloomington include cross country, track, baseball, golf, tennis, rowing, volleyball, soccer, football and basketball...
to make the Sweet 16 in the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Dallas, Texas...
. He is also known for discovering future NBA player Manute Bol
Manute Bol
Manute Bol was a Sudanese-born basketball player and activist. At 7 feet, 7 inches , Bol was one of the tallest players ever to appear in the National Basketball Association, along with Gheorghe Mureşan. Unlike Mureşan, however, Bol was naturally tall and did not have a Pituitary disease...
.
Early Coaching Career
Mackey was a successful high school coach at the former Don Bosco Technical High School in Boston, winning the 1976 state championship and three consecutive Class A Catholic championships. From 1977 to 1983, he served as an assistant coach at Boston CollegeBoston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
under Dr. Tom Davis and Gary Williams
Gary Williams
Gary B. Williams is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. In 2002, he led Maryland to the NCAA Tournament Championship...
in the early days of the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
. He was well known as a top recruiter, and was well known for landing inner-city prospects.
Cleveland State
Mackey coached at Cleveland State University from 1983 to 1990 and posted a record of 144 wins and 67 losses. His teams made one NCAA and two National Invitation TournamentNational Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
appearances and averaged more than 20 wins per season. His best team was the 1985-86 unit, which won a school-record 29 games and advanced all the way to the Sweet 16—becoming the first #14 seed to advance that far. It was also the first postseason bid of any sort in the program's 57-year history. Before his first round game against Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers are the athletic teams for the Bloomington campus of Indiana University . Athletic teams sponsored by IU Bloomington include cross country, track, baseball, golf, tennis, rowing, volleyball, soccer, football and basketball...
, he went up to Bobby Knight
Bobby Knight
-Indiana:When Indiana University was seeking a new coach in 1971, they turned to Knight. Knight was given the nickname "The General" by former University of Detroit and Detroit Pistons coach-turned-broadcaster Dick Vitale....
saying, "Take it easy on me, big guy." Knight exploded, knowing Cleveland State would likely give the Hoosiers all they could handle with its "run n' stun" style. He became a celebrity in northeastern Ohio, with the local press dubbing him "the King of Cleveland." Cleveland State used the money from the 1986 NCAA run to build what is now the Wolstein Center
Wolstein Center
The Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Convocation Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It replaced the Woodling Gym...
.
Earlier in 1985, Mackey invited Bol to Cleveland after seeing him in action with a Sudanese team that was touring the United States. However, Bol didn't speak or write English very well at the time. He was unable to improve his English-language skills after months of English language classes at ELS Language Centers
ELS Language Centers
ELS Language Centers is a private entity that provides English language training in the United States. It operates through various language centers, often based on a college campus. Originally set up as an organization for creating and publishing ESL materials, ELS opened its first center in 1961...
on the Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
campus, and never played a game for Cleveland State. Five years later, Cleveland State was placed on two years' probation for providing improper financial assistance to Bol and two other African players. They were also banned from Mid-Continent conference play for the duration of the probation.
Even with the probation, Mackey still reckoned as a rising star in the collegiate ranks. Cleveland State knew this, and signed him to a two-year, $300,000 contract in July 1990 (US$ in dollars). However, on July 13—only a few days after he signed his contract—Cleveland police, pulled him over after he drove left of center. He was arrested for driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
and having an open container. It subsequently emerged that he'd sprayed his mouth with a breath spray before taking a Breathalyzer
Breathalyzer
A breathalyzer or breathalyser is a device for estimating blood alcohol content from a breath sample...
test at the police station. Since breath spray can alter the results of Breathalyzer tests, police took a urine sample, which revealed traces of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
.
The Wednesday after his arrest, Mackey held a press conference in which he acknowledged a long-running problem with substance abuse. He also announced that he planned to go into rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
, and his lawyer asked Cleveland State to let him go on a leave of absence so he could complete it. However, Cleveland State refused to do so and fired him only a few days after signing his contract. Mackey subsequently pleaded no contest
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
and in lieu of prosecution, he was ordered confined to a rehabilitation center for 60 days.
In 2009, Mackey told the New York Times that at the time of his arrest, he'd been an alcoholic for many years and had begun using cocaine shortly after the 1986 NCAA Tournament. He said that he thought he was able to control it, and didn't realize how serious the problem was until his arrest. However, he has remained sober for over 20 years. Many of Mackey's former players later said that they learned from Mackey's experience and how it humbled him. He remains very much in the good graces of Cleveland State fans. During the 20-year reunion of the 1986 Cinderella run, Mackey received a standing ovation.
Pro career
Mackey spent 60 days at a rehab center run by John LucasJohn Lucas II
John Harding Lucas II is a retired American professional basketball player and a current assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers.-Basketball playing career and substance abuse:...
, and then went on to a successful career in minor league basketball. In 1991, he was a mid-season replacement coach for the Miami Tropics
Miami Tropics
The Miami Tropics were a team in the Premier Basketball League that began to play in 2007 in Miami, Florida. The team was owned by the Imperiali Organization, which also owns the Palm Beach Imperials. They originally played their inaugural season in the American Basketball Association, but moved...
of the United States Basketball League
United States Basketball League
The United States Basketball League , often abbreviated to the USBL, was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985. The final champions are the Kansas Cagerz, who won the title game on July 1, 2007.-History:...
and led the team to the title game. In 1996 he coached the Portland (Maine) Mountain Cats to the Final Four of the USBL. Following his stint with the Mountain Cats, Mackey captured three consecutive USBL Championships, with the Atlantic City Seagulls, something no other coach in the USBL has done.
He also coached Trenton New Jersey of the I.B.C., Jacksonville of the USBL and was National Director of Scouting for Hoops Global and Director of Player Personnel for Pro Basketball USA. In 1999, he again surfaced as a head coach, this time in professional basketball where he led the Mansfield Hawks
Mansfield Hawks
The Mansfield Hawks were an International Basketball Association professional basketball team that existed for exactly two basketball seasons in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. After a successful inaugural season, the Hawks won the IBA championship in their second, and final, season of existence. They...
to the International Basketball Association
International Basketball Association
The International Basketball Association was founded by Alexandria, Minnesota entrepreneur Thomas Anderson in 1995. Anderson traveled the Upper Midwest searching for franchise owners for a couple of years before the league began play with five teams in the 1995-1996 season...
championship in his first season.
In 2004, Mackey was hired as a scout for the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
of the NBA. Pacers basketball operations president Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
, whose early days with the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
coincided with Mackey's tenure at Boston College, had long admired Mackey. He'd originally gotten in touch with Mackey in 2002 during his abortive bid for what became the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
. Mackey is still with the team as of the 2009-10 season.