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Donnis Butcher

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Donnis Butcher
Donnis Butcher, c. 1961
Personal information
Born(1936-02-06)February 6, 1936
Williamsport, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedOctober 8, 2012(2012-10-08) (aged 76)
Hartland, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolMeade (Williamsport, Kentucky)
CollegePikeville
NBA draft1961: 7th round, 60th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career1961–1966
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Number19, 24
Career history
As player:
1961–1963New York Knicks
1963–1966Detroit Pistons
As coach:
1967–1968Detroit Pistons
Career statistics
Points1,696 (6.1 ppg)
Rebounds821 (2.9 rpg)
Assists585 (2.1 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Donnis Butcher (February 8, 1936 – October 8, 2012), sometimes referred to as Donnie Butcher, was an American basketball player and coach. A 6'2" point guard and shooting guard from Pikeville College in Kentucky, Butcher was selected by the New York Knicks in the seventh round of the 1961 NBA draft. He played five seasons in the NBA, playing for both the Knicks and the Detroit Pistons. He also coached the Pistons from March 1967 to December 1968, tallying a regular season record of 52-60 and a playoff record of 2-4.

Early years

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Butcher was born and raised in Williamsport, Kentucky. He attended Meade High School in Williamsport and Pikeville College in Pikeville, Kentucky.[1] He played basketball for Pikeville where he was the only unanimous pick on the All-Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball team in both 1960 and 1961.[2][3]

NBA career

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Butcher was selected by the New York Knicks with the 60th pick in the 1961 NBA Draft. He appeared in 47 games for the Knicks during the 1961-62 season, scoring 138 points with 51 assists and 79 rebounds. The following year, he appeared in 68 games, scoring 475 points with 138 assists and 180 rebounds.[4]

In December 1963, the Knicks traded Butcher to the Detroit Pistons.[5] Butcher became a starter for the Pistons and had career-bests during the 1963-64 season with 1,971 minutes played, 563 points scored, 329 rebounds, and 244 assists. He also ranked 10th in the NBA in assists per 36 minutes during the 1963-64 season. He continued to play for the Pistons throughout the 1965-66 season.[4]

In five NBA seasons, Butcher appeared in 279 games and tallied 1,696 points, 821 rebounds, and 585 assists.[4]

Coaching career

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In March 1967, with eight games remaining in the 1966–67 Detroit Pistons season, Butcher was hired as interim coach of the Detroit Pistons in March 1967.[4][6] He took over as regular head coach for the 1967–68 season, leading the team to a 40–42 and a spot in the division semifinals where they lost to the Boston Celtics. He was fired in early December 1968 after the team compiled a 52-60 record, and 2-4 in the playoffs, as the Pistons' coach.[7] He was retained on the Pistons' staff as a scout until May 1969.[8]

Later years

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Butcher later returned to a scouting job with the Pistons in the 1970s. He later became a representative for Converse responsible for conducting basketball clinics and signing athletes to shoe contracts.[9][10]

Butcher died in October 2012, or month after being diagnosed with and advanced stage of kidney cancer.[1]

Career playing statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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Source[4]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1961–62 New York 47 10.2 .310 .609 1.7 1.1 2.9
1962–63 New York 68 17.5 .406 .675 2.6 2.0 7.0
1963–64 New York 26 16.1 .322 .636 2.6 2.5 4.5
1963–64 Detroit 52 29.9 .421 .616 5.0 3.4 8.6
1964–65 Detroit 71 16.3 .405 .618 2.8 1.7 5.8
1965–66 Detroit 15 19.0 .469 .529 2.2 2.0 7.2
Career 279 18.2 .397 .629 2.9 2.1 6.1

Head coaching record

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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 %

NBA

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Source[11]

Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Detroit 1966–67 8 2 6 .250 5th in Western — — — — Missed playoffs
Detroit 1967–68 82 40 42 .488 4th in Eastern 6 2 4 .333 Lost in Division semifinals
Detroit 1969–70 22 10 12 .455 (fired) — — — —
Career 112 52 60 .464 6 2 4 .333

References

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  1. ^ a b Vince Ellis (October 10, 2012). "Ex-coach and player Donnis Butcher dies". Detroit Free Press. p. 2B – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Dave Whitaker (February 28, 1960). "Butcher Heads All-K.I.A.C. 5". The Courier-Journal. p. Sports 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Dave Whitaker (March 26, 1961). "Butcher Leads K.I.A.C. Voting". The Courier-Journal. p. Sports 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Donnie Butcher". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Jack Saylor (December 16, 1963). "Pistons Trade Egan to N.Y." Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 4D – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Jack Saylor (March 9, 1967). "'Interim Coach' Butcher To Stay on in 1967-68". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 5D – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Jack Saylor (December 3, 1968). "'I Wasn't Getting 100 Pct.' -- Butcher: Pistons Name Seymour New Coach". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 2D – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Pistons Release Donnis Butcher". Progress-Bulletin. May 28, 1969. p. 3 (section 5) – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Rocky Stanley (June 21, 1979). "Basketball is Butcher's game: Former Pistons Coach finds clinic tour is just as hectic as pro life". The Times Herald. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Ex-pro basketball star to hold clinic in Cass". Edwardsburg Argus. May 22, 1980. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Donnie Butcher NBA coaching stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
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