BOSTON CELTICS NAME DICK HARTER ASSISTANT COACH

[CeltsSteve@AOL.com]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


BOSTON, MA - The Boston Celtics announced today the addition of Dick Harter 
as Assistant Coach.
    
Harter has served as both a Head Coach and as an assistant for well over 30 
seasons, and has earned his reputation as one of the premier defensive minds 
in the game.
    
"We are very pleased that Dick is joining our staff," said Celtics Head Coach 
Jim O'Brien. 
"His experience in the league and knowledge of all phases of the game, 
especially on the defensive end, will round out our staff."
    
"I am very excited to join Jim, whom I have known for a long time dating back 
to my days in Philadelphia," said Harter. "But I am also excited to join the 
Celtics. They obviously have a very special tradition dating as far back as I 
can remember. I feel this squad has the talent to join the upper echelon of 
teams in the league."
    
Much like O'Brien, Harter's intense interest and knowledge of the game stems 
from his involvement in Philadelphia basketball. A graduate of the University 
of Pennsylvania, Harter took his first coaching job at Rider College in New 
Jersey in 1965. But after just a year, he returned to Philadelphia to serve 
as the Head Coach at his alma mater, leading the Quakers to an 88-44 record 
from 1966-71, including a 28-1 season in 1970-71. That year, Penn rose
as high as third in the national polls. 
    
He later served as Head Coach at Penn State from 1978-83, compiling a 79-61 
mark. Harter also served as the Head Coach at the University of Oregon from 
1971-78. In all, Harter boasts having coached for 18 seasons in the college 
game, amassing a 295-195 mark. Like O'Brien, Harter is a member of the Big 
Five Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the University of Pennsylvania Hall 
of Fame, as well as the University of Oregon Hall of Fame. 
But Harter's resume is not short on NBA experience, having learned the 
professional game from some of its greatest minds. He took his first NBA 
position as an assistant under Chuck Daly at the Detroit Pistons from 
1983-86, when the club recorded three consecutive winning seasons for the 
first time in franchise history. He then left Detroit to serve as an 
assistant under Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay at the Indiana Pacers from 
1986-88. The Pacers won
41 games in 1986-87, then a franchise record for wins in a season.

Harter's ascension up the coaching ranks peaked in 1988 when he accepted his 
first head coaching job in the NBA, taking over as the first-ever coach of 
the expansion Charlotte Hornets, where he coached until 1990.

After serving as an assistant to Pat Riley at the New York Knicks from 
1991-94 and at the Portland Trailblazers from 1994-97, he rejoined the Pacers 
on Larry Bird's staff in 1997. Over the next three seasons, the Pacers 
collected two Central Division titles and made one appearance in the NBA 
Finals. Bird credited Harter's input as one of the reasons the team enjoyed 
so much success in that stretch, as well as a major factor in him winning the 
NBA's
Coach of the Year award in 1998.

Harter and his wife, Mari, reside on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and 
spend the off-season in Lake Willoughby, Vermont.
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