Matt Zunic
Matthew J. Zunic (September 19, 1919 – December 15, 2006)[1] was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball at the George Washington University.[2] A 6'3" guard, he played one season in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), a precursor to the NBA. He averaged 4.9 points per game for the Washington Capitols.
![]() Zunic, circa 1949 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 19, 1919 Renton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 15, 2006 (aged 87) Lecanto, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | New Kensington (New Kensington, Pennsylvania) |
| College | George Washington (1938–1941) |
| BAA draft | 1947 / Round: – / Pick: – |
| Selected by the Washington Capitols | |
| Playing career | 1945–1949 |
| Position | Guard / Forward |
| Number | 18 |
| Coaching career | 1947–1976 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1945–1948 | Midland/Flint Dow A.C.'s |
| 1948–1949 | Washington Capitols |
| As coach: | |
| 1947–1948 | Flint Dow A.C.'s (interim HC) |
| 1950–1951 | George Washington (assistant) |
| 1951–1952 | UMass (assistant) |
| 1952–1959 | Boston University |
| 1959–1963 | UMass |
| 1963–1965 | Pittsfield Merchants |
| 1968 | Springfield Hall of Famers |
| 1970–1971 | Hartford Capitols |
| 1972–1976 | Westfield State |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
He later coached at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. He coached seven season at BU (1952–53 through 1958–59), compiling a 96-58 record (.623). He then moved to the University of Massachusetts, coaching for four seasons (1959–60 through 1962–63), compiling a 57-41 record (.582). In the 1961–62 season, Massachusetts won their first Yankee Conference title, and played in the school's first NCAA tournament.
BAA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | ||||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | ||||
| FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||||
| APG | Assists per game | ||||
| PPG | Points per game | ||||
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948–49 | Washington | 56 | .303 | .706 | .9 | 4.9 |
| Career | 56 | .303 | .706 | .9 | 4.9 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Washington | 9 | .179 | .632 | .7 | 2.9 |
| Career | 9 | .179 | .632 | .7 | 2.9 | |
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston University (Independent) (1952–1959) | |||||||||
| 1952–53 | Boston University | 10–10 | |||||||
| 1953–54 | Boston University | 9–11 | |||||||
| 1954–55 | Boston University | 12–9 | |||||||
| 1955–56 | Boston University | 17–6 | |||||||
| 1956–57 | Boston University | 13–10 | |||||||
| 1957–58 | Boston University | 15–5 | |||||||
| 1958–59 | Boston University | 20–7 | NCAA Regional Runner-up | ||||||
| Boston University: | 96–58 | ||||||||
| Massachusetts (Yankee Conference) (1959–1963) | |||||||||
| 1959–60 | Massachusetts | 14–10 | 6–4 | ||||||
| 1960–61 | Massachusetts | 16–10 | 4–6 | ||||||
| 1961–62 | Massachusetts | 15–9 | 8–2 | 1st | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 1962–63 | Massachusetts | 12–12 | 6–4 | 3rd | |||||
| Massachusetts: | 57–41 | 24–16 | |||||||
| Total: | 153–99 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
- Family Search
- Career statistics Archived 2007-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
