New NBA Team in Charlotte Names Pacer Assistant Dick Harter as Coach
Indiana Pacers assistant coach Dick Harter was named Thursday as head coach of the National Basketball Assn. expansion Charlotte Hornets.
Harter, 57, will be starting his professional head coaching career this fall at the same time the Hornets begin their first season as an NBA team.
Harter has been an NBA assistant coach for five seasons, after 19 seasons as a college head coach at four schools.
Harter and former Philadelphia 76ers coach Matt Guokas, 44, were reported to be the Hornets’ finalists. On Wednesday, Guokas was named coach of the Orlando Magic, which begins play in the 1989-90 season.
Harter was recommended to Hornet vice president Carl Scheer by Pacer General Manager Donnie Walsh, a former guard at the University of North Carolina and later a Denver Nuggets head coach and assistant coach while Scheer was general manager there.
Harter did not emerge as a serious candidate until April 8, when Larry Brown, after his Kansas team won the national championship, said he would remain with the Jayhawks.
The team must next prepare for the NBA expansion draft, scheduled two days after the completion of the playoffs, and the college draft June 28.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
