Jan van Breda Kolff

Jan van Breda Kolff
Personal information
Born	December 16, 1951 (age 73); Palos Verdes, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Palos Verdes; (Palos Verdes, California)
College	Vanderbilt (1971–1974)
NBA draft	1974: 2nd round, 20th overall pick
	Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career	1974–1985
Position	Small forward
Number	32, 5, 20, 22
Career history
As player:
1974–1975	Denver Nuggets
1975–1976	Virginia Squires
1976	Kentucky Colonels
1976–1983	New York / New Jersey Nets
1983–1985	Granarolo Bologna
As coach:
1983–1985	Granarolo Bologna (player coach)
1985–1991	Princeton (assistant)
1991–1993	Cornell
1993–1999	Vanderbilt
1999–2001	Pepperdine
2001–2003	St. Bonaventure
2003–2004	New Orleans Hornets (assistant)
2008–2010	Nashville Broncos / Music City Stars
Career highlights and awards
	As player: Italian League champion (1984); Italian Cup winner (1984); SEC Player of the Year (1974); As coach: WCC regular season champion (2000);
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points	3,696 (6.2 ppg)
Rebounds	2,572 (4.3 rpg)
Assists	1,178 (2.0 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Jan van Breda Kolff (born December 16, 1951) is an American former college and professional basketball player and college basketball head coach. The son of coach Butch van Breda Kolff and grandson of Dutch soccer player Jan van Breda Kolff, he played from 1974 to 1976 for the Denver Nuggets, Kentucky Colonels, and Virginia Squires in the American Basketball Association, and the New York/New Jersey Nets in the National Basketball Association. From 1970 to 1974 he played for Vanderbilt University, and in 1974 he led the Commodores to a Southeastern Conference championship as SEC Player of the Year.^[1]

He also spent two years in Italy, from 1983 to 1985, helping Italian team Virtus Bologna win a championship.

Coaching career

Van Breda Kolff was a player coach while playing in Italy. Then he became an assistant coach at Princeton in either 1985 or 1987.^[2]^[3]

Van Breda Kolff's tenure at St. Bonaventure ended abruptly in controversy late in the 2002–03 season. St. Bonaventure declared junior college transfer Jamil Terrell eligible to play without sitting out a year (as he would have been under NCAA rules if he had earned an associate degree), even though Terrell had only earned a welding certificate. Athletic director Gothard Lane had told school president Robert Wickenheiser that Terrell was ineligible to play that year. However, Wickenheiser, under prodding from his son Kort, who was also one of Van Breda Kolff's assistants, unilaterally declared Terrell eligible. School officials didn't seek guidance from the NCAA about Terrell's eligibility until the 2002–03 season was nearly over. The Bonnies were forced to forfeit every game in which Terrell played, and were also barred from the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. In protest, the Bonnies players opted to sit out the last two games.^[4]^[5] Van Breda Kolff denied knowing about the scandal and was cleared of wrongdoing.^[6]

On April 25, 2007, he was named as one of three finalists to become the new head coach of UC Riverside's men's basketball program.

Van Breda Kolff was named coach of the Nashville Broncos of the American Basketball Association in 2008. He stayed with the team through its name change to the Music City Stars but lost his job when the team disbanded in 2010.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Cornell Big Red (Ivy League) (1991–1993)
1991–92	Cornell	7–19	5–9	5th
1992–93	Cornell	16–10	9–5	3rd
Cornell:		23–29 (.442)	14–14 (.500)
Vanderbilt Commodores (Southeastern Conference) (1993–1999)
1993–94	Vanderbilt	20–12	9–7	3rd	NIT Runner-up
1994–95	Vanderbilt	13–15	6–10	4th
1995–96	Vanderbilt	19–12	7–9	4th	NIT Second Round
1996–97	Vanderbilt	18–14	9–7	4th	NCAA Division I First Round
1997–98	Vanderbilt	20–13	7–9	T–4th	NIT Quarterfinal
1998–99	Vanderbilt	14–15	5–11	5th
Vanderbilt:		104–81 (.562)	43–53 (.448)
Pepperdine Waves (West Coast Conference) (1999–2001)
1999–00	Pepperdine	25–9	12–2	1st	NCAA Division I Second Round
2000–01	Pepperdine	22–9	12–2	2nd	NIT Second Round
Pepperdine:		47–18 (.723)	24–4 (.857)
St. Bonaventure Bonnies (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2001–2003)
2001–02	St. Bonaventure	17–13	8–8	6th	NIT Second Round
2002–03	St. Bonaventure	13–14	7–9	7th
St. Bonaventure:		30–27 (.526)	15–17 (.469)
Total:		204–155 (.568)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion