Dan Sparks (basketball)

Dan Sparks
Personal information
Born	April 17, 1945; Bloomington, Indiana
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school	Bloomington South; (Bloomington, Indiana)
College	Vincennes (1964–1966); Weber State (1966–1968);
NBA draft	1968 / Round: 4 / Pick: 41st overall
	Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career	1968–1970
Position	Power forward
Number	32
Career history
As player:
1968–1970	Miami Floridians
As coach:
1971–1974	Vincennes (assistant)
1974–1978	Kansas City Kings (assistant / scout)
1979–2005	Vincennes
2005–2006	Northern Colorado (assistant)
2006–2013	Wabash Valley
Career highlights and awards
	As player: NJCAA national champion (1965); As coach: Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (2015); NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame (2000); NABC National Coach of the Year (1986); NJCAA national champion (1972);
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Daniel E. Sparks (born April 17, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and college coach.[1] He played in the American Basketball Association for the Miami Floridians during the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons after a split collegiate career at Vincennes University and Weber State University.[1] Sparks was selected in both the 1968 ABA and NBA drafts by the Miami Floridians and Cincinnati Royals, respectively.[1][2]

In 2015, Sparks was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.[3] Although he garnered success as a player, having won the NJCAA national championship at Vincennes in 1965 and having served as Weber State's team MVP during their NCAA Tournament season in 1967–68, he is best known for his coaching career.[3] He coached at the junior college level for 33 seasons, primarily at his alma mater Vincennes, and amassed 869 wins (versus only 247 losses) during his hall of fame career.[3][4] Sparks coached 25 NJCAA All-Americans and 33 future professional players in his career, including Eric Williams, Shawn Marion, Tyrone Nesby, and Carl Landry.[4] He is the state of Indiana's all-time winningest coach (706 victories) and was the national coach of the year in 1985–86.[3]

References

"Daniel Sparks ABA stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
"Miami Floridians (1968–1969)". databasebasketball.com. databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
"Dan Sparks". hoopshall.com. Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
Ford, Steve (April 18, 2013). "After 869 victories, Sparks retires as Wabash Valley, junior college basketball coach". CourierPress.com. Evansville Courier Press. Retrieved February 1, 2016.

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[bbr-1] "Daniel Sparks ABA stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 1, 2016.

[2] "Miami Floridians (1968–1969)". databasebasketball.com. databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.

[ibhof-3] "Dan Sparks". hoopshall.com. Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 1, 2016.

[retire-4] Ford, Steve (April 18, 2013). "After 869 victories, Sparks retires as Wabash Valley, junior college basketball coach". CourierPress.com. Evansville Courier Press. Retrieved February 1, 2016.