| Wins against Kentucky - 1 | Losses against Kentucky - 0 |
Alma Mater: Savage School of Physical Education [1917]
Hometown: New York, NY
Date Born: October 19, 1896
Date Died: February 12, 1995
Overall Record: 423-190 [37 Seasons]
| Date | Matchup | UK Result | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/14/1950 | Kentucky vs. CCNY | L | 50 - 89 | NIT (at New York, NY) |
Obituary - New York Daily News (February 13, 1995)
Legendary CCNY Coach Passes Away by Bill Madden
Nat Holman, the New York basketball icon whose achievement of coaching CCNY to both the NCAA and NIT titles in 1950 will always be tempered by point-shaving scandals that followed, is dead.
Holman, a Hall of Famer who lived out his last year at the Hebrew Home for the Aged in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, died Sunday of natural causes at 98.
Born Oct. 19, 1896 on the Lower East Side, Holman was a four-sport star at Commerce High School. Although he was a good enough pitcher to be offered a pro contract by the Cincinnati Reds, basketball was the sport he was drawn to. A 5-10 1/2 guard, Holman played college ball at New York's Savage School of Physical Education.
After graduating in 1917, he embarked on a pro career that included an eight-year stint as one of the Original Celtics, a New York-base team. Among his barnstorming mates were Johnny Beckman, Dutch Dennert, Chris Leonard and Joe Lapchick, the future St. John's coach. Although he was already coaching, Holman played 120 games a season as a pro and was billed as the "world's greatest basketball player."
But it was at the helm at CCNY from 1918-59 that Holman would find basketball immortality. His overall record at CCNY was 423-190. From 1931-34 his CCNY teams went 43-3 and his 1949-50 team will go down in college basketball history as the only one ever to win the NCAA and NIT tournaments in the same season.
A tremendous ball-handler as a pro, Holman taught his players the passing game that would become known as New York basketball. In 1921 he wrote the book "Scientific Basketball," one of his many titles that would be adopted as a textbook for the game. He had perhaps no better pupil than future Knick coach Red Holzman, an All-America guard under Holman in he early '40s. The "open man" concept would define Holzman's NBA championship teams of '69-70 and '72-73.
"He certainly taught me a great deal," said Holzman. "I owe him a lot. I'm saddened by it."
Holzman could take comfort in the fact that his mentor was active well into his later years, going to game at the Garden and attending functions held in his honor, including a 95th birthday party in Manhattan.
"I think he had a good life," Holzman said. "The great thing about him, his mind was excellent. That was a blessing. Nat was always a classy guy."
Holman and Holzman would together enter the CCNY Hall of Fame in 1968. Because Holman did not attend CCNY, the rules had to be changed to admit its famous coach. In 1977, the school would rename its gymnasium for the man who made the cheer of "Allagaroo" a part of city history.
After the Beavers completed the sweep by winning the NIT, LIU coach Clair Bee, a basketball legend like Holman, observed: "No team will ever do this again."
