Jack Rohan, Former Coach Of Columbia Basketball, 72

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Jack Rohan, who in two stretches covering 18 seasons became Columbia
University's most successful men's basketball coach, died August 9,
2004, in a nursing home in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, at the age
of 72.

Columbia said yesterday that it had just been notified of Rohan's
death. His wife, Barbara, told the university that the cause was
complications from Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neurological disorder.

Rohan's career coaching record at Columbia was 198-247. His 1967-68
team, led by Jim McMillian, Heyward Dotson and Dave Newmark, finished
with a 23-5 record, won the Ivy League championship and was ranked
sixth in the nation; he was voted the national college coach of the
year.

Rohan was also a full professor and chairman of the department of
physical education. In 1993, he became the first athletics faculty
member to receive Columbia's Great Teacher Award. The citation for
Rohan read in part:

"A model of wit and erudition, a noted raconteur, you are renowned as
much for your scintillating lectures as for courtside strategems. You
know the secrets of bringing out each man's aptitude and confidence."

He dismissed such praise, once saying:

"We're going to do as well as the people we have. John Wooden once
told me, 'No good coach can win consistently without good players.' I
do not bring miracles. I'm just a coach."

John Patrick Rohan was born Aug. 25, 1931, in the Floral Park section
of Queens, and was raised in Bellerose. He was a player on Columbia's
1950-51 unbeaten basketball team and a shortstop, third baseman and
pitcher on the baseball team.

He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Columbia in 1953 and a
master's from Columbia Teachers College in 1957. From 1955 through
1958, he served variously as the varsity golf and freshman basketball
coach at Columbia and the freshman basketball coach at New York
University.

In 1961, at age 29, he was named Columbia's varsity basketball coach,
and remained for 13 seasons. When his wife became ill and his two
small children had to be cared for, he left coaching to become
chairman of the department of physical education.

"I leave by my own volition," he said. "I felt I couldn't coach until
I was 65 and eventually I would be faced with the problem of what to
do."

At 58, with Columbia basketball in the doldrums, he returned and
served five seasons. When recruiting and winning became more
difficult, he retired from coaching in 1995 and from his
administrative position in 1996.

Pete Carril, Princeton's celebrated coach, said of Rohan: "I have
coached over 170 games. I have coached against powers like U.C.L.A.,
North Carolina, Duke and Davidson. But only three or four times didn't
I know what the hell I was doing. Each time it was against Jack
Rohan."

After coaching, Rohan worked as a television and radio basketball
analyst and taught at basketball camps. He also wrote N.C.A.A.
tournament scouting reports for The New York Times. In later years, he
lived in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts.

Rohan's ego was always restrained. As he said in 1964:

"The worst thing you can do is think you're important. Outside of
Casey Stengel, how many individuals are important in this world?"

From NY Times