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Athletics
The Pat Riley Sports Center
 It's
not difficult to understand how the athletic center at
Schenectady High School got it's name.
The legendary
player, coach, author, motivational speaker, NBA Hall of Famer
Pat Riley, graduated from Schenectady Schools. The school
that was known as Linton High School to Riley is
Schenectady High School today. It is the
same Schenectady building in the same community, where Riley
left his mark in the early 60's.
On October 15,
1997, Riley who at the time was in his second year as the Miami
Heat Head Coach and
President, returned to Schenectady High School for a student
dedication ceremony at which the newly renovated athletic facility was named in his honor. He spent an
afternoon touring what was once his school and meeting
with the administrators, teachers and students who occupied the
school thirty some years later.
 During
his visit, Riley glanced up at his name - The Pat Riley
Sports Center - boldly displayed across the
gymnasium wall. He commented on his many memories in
Schenectady. "They're all good ones," Riley told the students
at the time.
That day at
Schenectady High School was a very moving day for Riley, his
family, friends and the nearly 1,900 high school students who
welcomed the national star to their school. They finally
met the the icon they heard so much about in the media and in
their school - his school. Riley got hold of those students on that
Wednesday afternoon. He connected with them. He
inspired them. Riley's name on the wall had become a
symbol of inspiration and hope to many.
It was a proud
day in the Schenectady School District and both the school and
community members were thrilled to honor and celebrate the
success of Schenectady's own Pat Riley.
Pat Riley and Barry
Kramer were guest speakers at the special Athletic Hall of
Fame and Reunion 10 - year anniversary on September
12, 2007. |
Enjoying an
illustrious career as a head coach, Riley led two teams to
five NBA championships and was inducted into the
Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2008.
But Riley's
success began back in the 60's at Linton High School where he
starred in four sports.
Riley credits his father and many Schenectady coaches who influenced his
life when he was a teenager.
Riley was a
three year varsity basketball player at Linton where he scored
1,000 career points and finished with a team record of 46-7.
He led Linton to the 1961 Holiday Festival Tournament title
defeating Power Memorial with Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
in the final. He was named a high school basketball All-American
in 1963 and was the first player to win the Union Star's County
Player of the Year as a junior and senior.
And, that was just
the beginning.
After high
school, Riley played basketball for the legendary coach Adolph
Rupp at the University of Kentucky where he was a member of
Kentucky's Final Four Team in 1966.
Riley averaged
22 points per game his junior year, was the team captain as a
senior and was named three-time MVP at Kentucky. He was also
named a collegiate basketball All-American.
Riley played
nine
years in the NBA. In 1967, he was selected in the first
round of the NBA draft pick by the San Diego Rockets.
He joined
the Lakers in 1970 and averaged 6.7 points per game on the
Lakers 1971-72 NBA championship team. That year, the
Lakers set an NBA record winning 33 consecutive games.
Riley completed
his career as a player with the Phoenix Suns.
Over his nine
year career, Riley scored 3,906 points averaging 7.4 points per
game.
Following
retirement, Riley worked as broadcaster of the Lakers games
until 1980 when he was selected as assistant coach of the
Lakers. The next year he was named head coach of the team.
Riley's team
won the NBA title in his first season as head coach and a
total of four NBA championships with the Lakers including
back-to-back titles in 1987 and 1988. He was the coach
of the eighties.
From 1991-1995,
Riley coached the New York Knicks, leading them to the NBA
finals in 1994.
He took over as
head coach, a post he held for more than 12 years, and
President of the Miami Heat in 1995.
Overall as a coach,
Riley won 16 of
18 division titles, including four in a row at Miami. He
won five NBA championships, including four as the head
coach of the Los Angeles Lakers (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) and a
fifth in 2005 with the Miami Heat.
Riley
ranks third on the all-time wins list in NBA history behind
Lenny Wilkens and Don Nelson.
He is a
member of the NBA's Ten Best Coaches of All-Time and is
the only coach in history to win NBA Coach of the Year
honors with three different teams.
Riley is also a
motivational speaker. His books Showtime, and
The Winner Within, have appeared on the NY Times Best Seller
list.
He
was selected by the Times Union as one of the Capital Region's
Top 10 Athletes of the Century . He was also named to
Sport's Illustrated's list of the Greatest Athletes/Sports
Figures of the Century.
Riley was inducted in the Schenectady City School District
Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. He also returned in 2007
when he was guest speaker at the annual Athletic Hall of Fame
and Reunion Dinner.
The museum-like
setting of trophy cases, plaques and
displays that decorate Schenectady High School, honor not
only Pat Riley, but a long line of Schenectady graduates
who have made an impact on the history and tradition of sports
in Schenectady.
............................................................
The Pat Riley Sports Center is located at Schenectady High
School
1445 The Plaza
Schenectady, New York
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