Al Bianchi

Alfred A. Bianchi
Alfred A. Bianchi
Born	26 March 1932 (age 94)
Died	28 October 2019 (aged 87); Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Basketball player, coach, general manager, consultant, scout
Years active	1956–2009

Alfred A. Bianchi (March 26, 1932 – October 28, 2019) was an American professional involved in basketball as a player, coach, general manager, consultant, and scout.

Early life

Known by the nickname "Blinky," he completed his education at Long Island City High School in 1950 and graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1954. During his college career, he received All-Ohio Team recognition and was an honorable mention for basketball All-American honors. Between 1954 and 1956, he fulfilled his military service with the U.S. Army Medical Corps.

Playing career

Starting in 1956, Bianchi competed for the Syracuse Nationals in the NBA, remaining with the franchise as it relocated and became the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1963–64 season. He was one of the final NBA players to employ the two-handed set shot technique.

Coaching tenure

Although selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 1966 NBA expansion draft, Bianchi retired before playing for them and instead took on an assistant coaching role under Johnny "Red" Kerr. Subsequently, he was appointed head coach of the expansion team Seattle SuperSonics, where he recorded a 53–111 win-loss tally.

Between 1969 and 1975, Bianchi held dual responsibilities as coach and general manager for the Washington Caps/Virginia Squires in the American Basketball Association. His coaching excellence was recognized in 1971 when he received ABA Coach of the Year after guiding the Squires to a 55–29 (.655) record and an Eastern Division title. His overall coaching record concluded at 283 wins and 392 losses.

Executive roles

From 1976 through 1987, he served as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns under head coach John MacLeod, including during the Suns' memorable triple-overtime defeat to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Following this period, he transitioned into management positions, becoming general manager of the New York Knicks from 1987 until 1991. Later, he returned to Phoenix to scout collegiate talent before joining the Golden State Warriors as a consultant-scout from 2004 through the conclusion of the 2008–09 season.

In September 2007, Bianchi was honored with induction into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame as a player. He continued consulting work in Phoenix and was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Passing

Bianchi passed away on October 28, 2019, in Phoenix, Arizona, due to congestive heart failure. He was aged 87 at the time of his death.

NBA

Source

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
Template:Nbay	Syracuse	68	23.2	.351	.690	3.3	1.6	8.3
Template:Nbay	Syracuse	69	20.6	.344	.683	3.2	1.7	8.3
Template:Nbay	Syracuse	72*	24.7	.377	.723	2.8	2.2	10.0
Template:Nbay	Syracuse	69	18.2	.366	.703	2.6	2.4	7.7
Template:Nbay	Syracuse	52	12.8	.345	.690	2.0	1.8	5.7
Template:Nbay	Syracuse	80*	24.1	.397	.697	'3.5'	'3.3'	'10.3'
Template:Nbay	Syracuse	61	19.0	" .424 "	" .732 "	"2.2"	"2.8"	"7.6"

Playoff Performance

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1957	Syracuse Nationals	5	19.4	.316	.667	3.0	1.6	6.4
1958	Syracuse Nationals	2	18.5	.333	.375	3.5	1.0	5.0
1959	Syracuse Nationals	9	21.3	.459	.636	3.2	2.8	9.1
1960	Syracuse Nationals	2	9.0	.000

NBA and ABA Tenure

|- | style="text-align:left;" |Seattle SuperSonics | style="text-align:left;" |NBA 1967–68 | 82 || 23 || 59 || || Finished 5th in Western Division || — || — || — || — | style="text-align:center;" |Did not qualify for playoffs | |- | style="text-align:left;" |Seattle SuperSonics | style="text-align:left;" |NBA 1968–69 | 82 || 30 || 52 || || Placed 6th in Western Division || — || — || — || — | style="text-align:center;" |No playoff appearance | |- | style="text-align:left;" |Washington Caps* | style="text-align:left;" |ABA 1969–70 | 84 || 44 || 40 || || Ranked 3rd in Western Division || 7 || 3 || 4 ||

  | style="text-align:center;" |Eliminated in Division semifinals

| |- | style="text-align:left;" |Virginia Squires* | style="text-align:left;" |ABA 1970–71 | 84 || 55 || 29 || || Secured 1st place in Eastern Division || 12 || 6 || 6 ||

  | style="text-align:center;" |Exited in Division finals

| |- | style="text-align:left;" |Virginia Squires* | style="text-align:left;" |ABA 1971–72 | 84 || 45 || 39 || || Finished 2nd in Eastern Division || 11 || 7 || 4 ||

  | style="text-align:center;" |Lost in Division finals

| |- | style="text-align:left;" |Virginia Squires* | style="text-align:left;" |ABA 1972–73 | 84 || 42 || 42 || || Placed third in Eastern Division || 5 || 1 || 4 ||

  | style="text-align:center;" |Defeated in Division semifinals

| |-

  | style="text-align:left;" |1973–74 Virginia Squires season#Virginia*
  | style="text-align:left;" |ABA 1973–74
  |84||28||56||||Ranked fourth in Eastern Division||5||1||4||
  |style=text-align:center;Eliminated in Division semifinals|

|- |}

External links

Coaching statistics for Bianchi at BasketballReference.com