Cotton Fitzsimmons
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 7, 1931 Hannibal, Missouri |
| Died | July 24, 2004 (aged 72) Phoenix, Arizona |
| Nationality | American |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bowling Green (Bowling Green, Missouri) |
| College |
|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Coaching career | 1958–1996 |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 1958–1967 | Moberly Area CC |
| 1968–1970 | Kansas State |
| 1970–1972 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1972–1976 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1977–1978 | Buffalo Braves |
| 1978–1984 | Kansas City Kings |
| 1984–1986 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1988–1992 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1996 | Phoenix Suns |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Lowell "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. He coached the Phoenix Suns three times, was named the NBA Coach of the Year twice, and is often credited as the architect of the Suns' success of the late 1980s and early to middle 1990s.
Fitzsimmons played college basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange, where his jersey is now retired. He got his first coaching job at Moberly Junior College in Moberly, Missouri in 1956. He coached there eleven years, capping his tenure with two national junior college championships (NJCAA), in 1966 and 1967. In 1968, Fitzsimmons was hired by Kansas State University, where he served as head basketball coach for only two seasons before going into the NBA.
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
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