Lee Rose, former Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball coach who has devoted more than 50 years to the sport, has been nominated for enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The list of candidates for the 2016 class was released by the Basketball Hall of Fame, and included Rose, who guided the 49ers to the 1976 NIT Finals and the 1977 NCAA Final Four.
Rose’s impact on the sport spanned every level across six decades, including experience at the high school, NAIA, NCAA Div. I, II and III, NBDL, NBA and International levels.
During a 19-year college head coaching career, Rose won 71 percent of his games without suffering a losing season. He took teams at every level (NAIA, NCAA Div. I, II, and III) to their national championship tournaments. In addition, he spent 16 seasons in the NBA as either a coach or in player personnel and spent six seasons as supervisor of coaches for the NBDL. He also served USA Basketball as a head coach at the 1979 Soviet Union Spartikiade Games and the 1985 World University Games and served on the selection committees for the 1984 and 1996 U.S. Olympic teams. He has written two books: “The Basketball Handbook” in 2004 and “Winning Basketball Fundamentals” in 2013.
He is one of only 14 coaches to take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four and one of only five NCAA coaches to do so during a five-year period.
The 1977 Sporting News National Coach of the Year, Rose had a college coaching career that was highlighted by a five-year run that made rare history at Charlotte and Purdue. He boasted two NCAA Final Four trips and two NIT runner-up finishes. He also took the 49ers to the 1976 NIT Finals and the 1977 NCAA Final Four and doubled the success by taking Purdue to the 1979 NIT Finals and the 1980 NCAA Final Four. The 1977 trip is the 49ers’ lone Final Four appearance and the 1980 appearance is one of two in Purdue’s history.
He was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 1977 and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1980. Prior to coaching at Charlotte, he was the head coach for eight years at his alma mater, Transylvania College, taking the Pioneers to five NCAA Tournaments and one NAIA Tournament as the school moved through the NAIA and NCAA Div. II and III levels. Following his stint at Purdue, he coached for six seasons at South Florida, making three more post-season tournaments. In all, his teams competed in seven NCAAs, five NITs and one NAIA Tournament.
Rose began coaching in the NBA in 1986 and worked with the San Antonio Spurs and New Jersey Nets for three seasons. He spent seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks as director of player personnel, assistant coach and vice president of player personnel. From 1996 to 2001, he served as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets. After a six-year stint as supervisor of coaches for the NBDL, he joined the Charlotte Bobcats for the 2007-08 season, his final in the coaching ranks. He served as vice president/secretary of the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) and was the chairman of the Florida Special Olympics for five years.
Since his retirement from coaching, Rose has taken his motivational role home to Kentucky, where he has spoken to thousands of middle school students encouraging them to stay in school and improve their quality of life.
He has been commissioned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a Kentucky Colonel by three different governors and been inducted into the Transylvania College Hall of Fame, the state of Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, the Estill County Hall of Honor and the Henry Clay High School Hall of Fame. In 2008, he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Transylvania University, and in 2012, he was named a “Difference Maker” by Kentucky Congressman Hal Rogers.
The complete, official list of eligible candidates was released on Dec. 21. Finalists for the Class of 2016 will be announced on Saturday, Feb. 13, at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto. The entire Class of 2016 will be unveiled on Monday, April 4, at the Men’s NCAA Final Four in Houston.