Former Phoenix Suns first-round draft pick John Shumate, who also served in the team’s front office and as Mercury head coach, died Monday morning at the age of 72, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro and the South Bend Tribune’s Tom Noie.
Shumate was drafted by Phoenix with the fourth overall pick in the 1974 NBA Draft. He did not appear during the 1974-75 season due to a blood clot found in his lung. Shumate eventually made it on the court the following season but only played in 43 games for Phoenix before being dealt to the Buffalo Braves midseason for Gar Heard and draft capital.
Shumate also spent time with the Detroit Pistons (1977-79), Houston Rockets (1979-80), San Antonio Spurs (1980) and Seattle Supersonics (1981).
Shumate’s post-playing career included an assistant coach gig at Notre Dame after his NBA retirement in 1981. He got his first shot as a head coach at Grand Canyon where he went 57-34 from 1983-86 before a seven-year run at SMU from 1988-95. He finished 78-118 in his SMU tenure.
From there, Shumate served as assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors from 1995-98. He returned to Phoenix as a community relations representative in 1998, eventually moving into a college scouting role for the Suns in 2000.
Shumate then took over as the Mercury’s head coach in 2003. He coached Phoenix to an 8-26 mark before leaving that post to rejoin the Suns’ front office as a college scout.
Shumate got back into coaching during the 2009-10 season as a Suns assistant under then-head coach Alvin Gentry. He later served as a scout once more after his one season as a Suns assistant.
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