Doug Moe gone at age 87, and this guy was a legend and a true character…One of a kind, and he will be missed…
(The only person that could keep Doug Moe in line and under control, was his wife, and they/plus he called her, “Big Jane”.)
Doug Moe was an assistant coach to his friend Larry Brown, when they coached the old Carolina Cougars team from the ABA, and the home base of the Cougars was in Greensboro, North Carolina, but the Cougars also played games in Raleigh and Charlotte…But, Greensboro was their true home…The Cougars used to conduct several of their practices at Western Guilford High School…We had a brand new gym back in those days at WG…And Moe played for the Carolina Cougars from 1969 to 1970.
Doug Moe played college basketball for Dean Smith and the North Carolina Tar Heels, but Dean Smith had to get him enrolled at Elon College so Doug Moe could get his grades up, and then he could attend UNC-Chapel Hill…He was one of those outstanding college basketball players, and you followed basketball at all in this state(North Carolina), you knew the name Doug Moe…And in the end, Doug Moe got his college diploma from Elon, instead of UNC-Chapel Hill…
Moe graduated from Elon College in 1965 in education.
Once, in 1961, Moe was on the same flight as former Vice President Richard Nixon while Moe played for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Noted for his fear of flying, Moe tried to read a book to distract himself; when Nixon was introduced to Moe by a coach, he stated Moe must be the student in the group and Moe (unfamiliar with the person making the remark) remarked, “What are you, a wise guy?”
His collegiate career ended in controversy when he admitted to being associated with a point shaving scandal. Moe received $75 from fix conspirator Aaron Wagman to fly to a meeting in New Jersey, arranged by Moe’s friend, conspirator Lou Brown, but Moe reportedly turned down an offer to throw games. There is no evidence that Moe was ever involved in a fix conspiracy, but his ties to the scandal blemished his reputation.
His professional basketball playing days were spent overseas, then with New Orleans Buccaneers, the Oakland Oaks, the Carolina Cougars, and the Virginia Squires, all of the ABA…
Moe was an assistant coach for the Carolina Cougars, Denver Nuggets where he joined Larry Brown again, and then he became head coach of the San Antonio Spurs…
From his days as the coach of the San Antonio Spurs:
Long before the San Antonio Spurs were a dynasty defined by defensive grit and “The Beautiful Game,” they were the NBA’s premier high-octane experiment under a rumpled, outspoken coach named Doug Moe.
Moe oversaw the franchise’s transition from the ABA to the NBA, leaving an indelible mark on South Texas basketball with a “run-and-gun” philosophy that was decades ahead of its time.
Hired in 1976 following the ABA-NBA merger, Moe replaced Bob Bass and immediately installed a system that prioritized pace over set plays. His strategy, often called “The Passing Game,” relied on a simple but rigid rule: no player should hold the ball for more than two seconds.
After the Nuggets, Moe coach the Philadelphia 76ers, and then rejoined the Nuggets as a coaching consultant…
Moe’s overall NBA head coaching ledger stands at 628–529 (.543), the 19th most in NBA history. His win total was the most in Nugget history until Michael Malone passed him in November 23, 2024, much to Moe’s approval.
***************A very good tribute to Doug Moe, from ESPN.com:*****************CLICK HERE for the ESPN article…
Doug Moe, legendary former Nuggets coach, dies at 87
Doug Moe, who starred in the ABA in the 1960s and engineered one of the best offenses of its era as coach for the Denver Nuggets in the 1980s, has died at the age of 87.
In a statement Tuesday, the Nuggets called Moe a “one of a kind leader and person who spearheaded one of the most successful and exciting decades in Nuggets history.”
Moe was a three-time All-Star in the ABA from 1968 to 1970 and helped the Oakland Oaks win the league’s championship in 1969. He transitioned to coaching a few years later, working as an assistant coach under his former teammate Larry Brown. He was named head coach of the San Antonio Spurs in 1976 and led the team for four seasons.
Moe is most famously known for his Nuggets tenure, however. He was hired to take over the team in 1980 and guided the franchise to one of its most successful decades. The Nuggets made the postseason nine straight years, powered by Moe’s patented run-and-gun offense that led the league in scoring six times. Moe finished with a 432-357 record in Denver, which was the most wins in franchise history up until Michael Malone broke the record last season.
“He will forever be loved and remembered by Nuggets fans and his banner commemorating his 432 career victories as head coach will hang in the rafters to forever honor his incredible legacy,” the Nuggets said in their statement. “The organization’s thoughts are with Doug’s wife Jane, his son David and all of his family and loved ones who are hurting in this moment.”
Moe retired from coaching with a record of 628-529, the 19th most wins in NBA history. He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award given annually to honor longtime NBA coaches in 2018.
Info on Doug Moe from GreensboroSports.com annals, from Wikipedia.com, and from ESPN.com