John Shumate

John Shumate
Shumate with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1973
Personal information
Born (1952-04-06) April 6, 1952 (age 72)
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolThomas Jefferson
(Elizabeth, New Jersey)
CollegeNotre Dame (1971–1974)
NBA draft1974: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career1975–1980
PositionPower forward / center
Number34
Coaching career1983–2010
Career history
As player:
1975–1976Phoenix Suns
19761977Buffalo Braves
19771979Detroit Pistons
1979–1980Houston Rockets
1980San Antonio Spurs
1981Seattle SuperSonics
As coach:
1983–1986Grand Canyon
1988–1995SMU
19951998Toronto Raptors (assistant)
2003Phoenix Mercury
2009–2010Phoenix Suns (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As head coach:

  • SWC regular season champion (1993)
Career NBA statistics
Points3,920 (12.3 ppg)
Rebounds2,388 (7.5 rpg)
Assists574 (1.8 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

John Henry Shumate (born April 6, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and coach.

Shumate grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and played high school basketball at Thomas Jefferson High School.[1]

A 6'9" forward/center from the University of Notre Dame, Shumate played five seasons (1975–1978; 1979–1981) in the NBA as a member of the Phoenix Suns, Buffalo Braves, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Seattle SuperSonics. He earned NBA All-Rookie Team honors in his first season after averaging 11.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. Over the course of his career, Shumate averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.[2] Shumate also appeared as a member of the Detroit team in the cult classic basketball film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh in 1979 alongside Pistons teammates Bob Lanier, Eric Money, Chris Ford, Kevin Porter, and Leon Douglas.[3]

Shumate later coached for the Southern Methodist University Mustangs and the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. He also appeared in a series of basketball training videos.[4] In the summer of 2009 he was named as an assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns.[5]

Shumate was the center on the Notre Dame team that ended UCLA's NCAA-record 88-game winning streak on January 19, 1974.

  1. ^ Viggiano, Bob. "Wilson hoops great Sullinger, 58, dies", Courier-Post, December 10, 2010. Accessed October 24, 2015. "The team's toughest test came in the state semifinals, when it went up against Thomas Jefferson of Elizabeth with John Shumate, who later starred at Notre Dame."
  2. ^ "John Sumate Stats". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  3. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079154/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_lk1 [user-generated source]
  4. ^ http://www.howtosports.com/basketball.php Archived 2007-06-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ "Shumate named assistant coach of Phoenix Suns". Sports.gaeatimes.com. August 25, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2013.