Larry Krystkowiak

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Larry Krystkowiak
Larry Krystkowiak in 2014.jpg
Larry Krystkowiak in 2014.
Personal information
Born (1964-09-23) September 23, 1964 (age 57)
Missoula, Montana
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolBig Sky (Missoula, Montana)
CollegeMontana (1982–1986)
NBA draft1986 / Round: 2 / Pick: 28th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career1986–1998
PositionPower forward
Number42, 7
Coaching career1998–present
Career history
As player:
1986–1987San Antonio Spurs
1987–1992Milwaukee Bucks
1992–1993Utah Jazz
1993–1994Orlando Magic
1994–1995Chicago Bulls
1995–1996Levallois
1997Los Angeles Lakers
1997–1998Idaho Stampede
As coach:
1998–2000Montana (assistant)
2001–2002Old Dominion (assistant)
2003–2004Idaho Stampede
2004–2006Montana
2006–2007Milwaukee Bucks (assistant)
2007–2008Milwaukee Bucks
2010USA U18 men's national team
2010–2011New Jersey Nets (assistant)
2011–2021Utah
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points3,425 (8.2 ppg)
Rebounds2,051 (4.9 rpg)
Assists513 (1.2 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
hide
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA U19 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1983 Palma de Mallorca Under-19

Larry Brett Krystkowiak (/krɪsˈkoʊviæk/ kris-KOH-vee-ak;[1] born September 23, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player, and former head coach of the Utah Utes men's basketball team.[2][3]

Early life[]

He was born in Missoula, Montana[3] to Bernard and Helen Krystkowiak.[4] At a young age, his mother always encouraged Larry to participate in sports.[5] His mother died of Hodgkin's lymphoma when he was eight years old[6] and his father remarried. He primarily grew up in Shelby, Montana, and his step-mother did not approve of Larry playing sports.[4] At the age of 15, Larry moved out of Shelby and finished his high school career at Big Sky High School in Missoula.[7] During this time he lived with his older brother Bernie,[4] who became Larry's legal guardian.[5]

College career[]

Krystkowiak played college basketball for the University of Montana from 1982 to 1986 and still holds the school records for career points scored (2,017) and rebounds (1,105).[8] He is the only person to have been named Big Sky Conference MVP three times (1984–1986).[9] Krystkowiak's jersey number was retired by the University of Montana.

Professional playing career[]

Krystkowiak was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round (28th overall pick) of the 1986 NBA draft. He played power forward for nine seasons in the NBA, spending the bulk of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He also played for the San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Krystkowiak scored the first two points in the history of the United Center. In the 1988–89 season he averaged 12.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and over 30 minutes per game for the Bucks.[3] Over his NBA career, he averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest.[3]

Coaching career[]

Early career[]

Krystkowiak began his coaching career in 1998 as an assistant to Don Holst at his alma mater, the University of Montana. He coached at Montana until 2000 when he left to join Old Dominion as an assistant under former Griz head coach, Blaine Taylor.[9] He spent one season (2001–2002) at Old Dominion.

Krystkowiak got his first opportunity as a head coach with the CBA's Idaho Stampede in 2003–04. In his single season as the Stampede's head coach, he led the team to a 37–16 record and a CBA championship game berth.[8]

He was hired as head men's basketball coach at the University of Montana in May 2004. He led the Griz to a 42–20 overall record over the course of the next two seasons, reaching the NCAA tournament each year as a result of winning the Big Sky Conference tourney. In 2006 the Grizzlies beat heavily favored, fifth seed, Nevada, in the NCAA Tournament.

NBA coaching career[]

In June 2006 Krystkowiak left Montana to take a job as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks under Terry Stotts. Krystkowiak was responsible for working with the Milwaukee's big men, notably second year players Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva.[10] He was named head coach of the team on March 14, 2007, after Stotts was fired. Stotts had led the Bucks to a 23–41 record during the 2006–07 season.[11] He signed a reported 4-year contract with the Bucks, with an average annual salary of $2 million[12] Krystkowiak's NBA head coaching debut on March 15, 2007, resulted in a 101–90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

On April 17, 2008, Krystkowiak was fired as Milwaukee Bucks head coach after a disappointing season in which the Bucks compiled the league's sixth worst record.[13]

In July 2010 Krystkowiak joined the New Jersey Nets coaching staff alongside Avery Johnson and Sam Mitchell.[14]

University of Utah[]

On April 3, 2011, it was announced that Krystkowiak would take over the head coaching position for the University of Utah men's basketball team, as they transitioned into Utah's first season in the newly realigned Pac-12.[4]

After Krystkowiak was named Utah's head coach, eight players left the program to play elsewhere and he was forced to bring in several junior college and walk-on players to fill his depleted roster. In a season where starting center David Foster missed the entire season and starting point guard Josh "Jiggy" Watkins was dismissed halfway through, Krystkowiak and the Utes struggled to a 6-25 finish, including only three wins against their new Pac-12 opponents.

The 2012–2013 season showed much improvement for Krystkowiak's Utes. The additions of freshmen Jordan Loveridge and Brandon Taylor, as well as great play and leadership from senior center Jason Washburn, would help Utah more than double their win total from the previous season. On March 9, 2013, Utah closed out its season by defeating No. 19 Oregon, celebrating Senior Night at the Huntsman Center with the program's first victory over a ranked opponent since 2009. Utah then defeated USC and California in the first and second rounds of the Pac-12 tournament before losing a rematch with Oregon, the eventual champion.

Krystkowiak's third season saw the 2013–2014 Runnin' Utes reach their first postseason tournament under the coach. The addition of transfer point guard Delon Wright and an improved core of players led Utah to a 21-12 record, receiving an at-large bid to the NIT. The next year, he led his team to the sweet sixteen, their highest run in the tournament in years. In 2017–18, he led the Utes to their first NIT finals appearance in 44 years.

The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame nominated Krystkowiak for its Class of 2013.[15] On June 21, 2018 Krystkowiak was enshrined into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2018 in Troy, Michigan.

On March 16, 2021 Larry was fired by the University of Utah. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31078035/utah-fires-men-basketball-coach-larry-krystkowiak

Personal life[]

Larry and his wife, Jan, have five children, Cam, Luc, Ben and twin girls Samantha and Finley.[8] He has seen his father only once in over 30 years, because of the issues in his early life.[6]

Head coaching record[]

Larry Krystkowiak's record as a head coach.

CBA[]

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L Pct Finish Result
Idaho Stampede 2003–04[8] 53 37 16 .698 Lost CBA championship game

College[]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Montana Grizzlies (Big Sky Conference) (2004–2006)
2004–05 Montana 18–13 9–5 2nd NCAA First Round
2005–06 Montana 24–7 10–4 2nd NCAA Second Round
Montana: 42–20 (.677) 19–9 (.679)
Utah Utes (Pac-12 Conference) (2011–2021)
2011–12 Utah 6–25 3–15 11th
2012–13 Utah 15–18 5–13 10th
2013–14 Utah 21–12 9–9 T–8th NIT First Round
2014–15 Utah 26–9 13–5 T–2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2015–16 Utah 27–9 13–5 2nd NCAA Second Round
2016–17 Utah 20–12 11–7 4th NIT First Round
2017–18 Utah 23–12 11–7 T–3rd NIT Runner-Up
2018–19 Utah 17–14 11–7 3rd
2019–20 Utah 16–15 7–11 T–8th
2020-21 Utah 12–13 8–11 8th
Utah: 183–139 (.568) 91–90 (.503)
Total: 225–159 (.586)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NBA[]

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
hide
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Milwaukee 2006–07 18 5 13 .278 5th in Central — — — — Missed playoffs
Milwaukee 2007–08 82 26 56 .317 5th in Central — — — — Missed playoffs
Career 100 31 69 .310 — — — —

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ http://www.nba.com/global/intl_player_pronunciation_070426.html
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d BasketballReference entry
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d sltrib.com
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b si.com He Has Taken Some Tough Shots
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Basketball Times. Vol. 34. No.1. Sept 2011.
  7. ^ Tribune Staff. "125 Montana Newsmakers: Larry Krystkowiak". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "NBA.com bio". Archived from the original on March 18, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Missoulian.com
  10. ^ Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ NBA.com Krystkowiak replaces Stotts
  12. ^ 15, 2007&id=20650 info on Krytkowiak/Bucks contract Archived October 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ ESPN.com story on Bucks firing
  14. ^ Mitchell, Krystkowiak join Nets staff
  15. ^ "Election results". National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013.

External links[]

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