# Johnny Bach

John William Bach (July 10, 1924 – January 18, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A forward/guard, Bach played college basketball at Fordham University and Brown University. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1948 Basketball Association of America (BAA) Draft, and played 34 games for the Celtics.

## Career

In 1950, at age 26, Bach became one of the nation's youngest head coaches at a major college when he took over the coaching job at Fordham. He spent 18 years there, taking seven Ram teams to post-season tourneys. From 1968 to 1978, he coached at Penn State, where he joined three old friends from Brown–Rip Engle, Joe Paterno and Joe McMullen. Although he led the Nittany Lions to five winning seasons, he would never reach the postseason.
Bach would later coach the Golden State Warriors for three years. He served as an interim coach in 1980, and then as the full-time coach from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, Bach joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant and became the architect of the "Doberman defense", the aggressive defensive effort led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. After the team won three championships from 1991 to 1993, Bach moved on to coaching jobs with the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. His stint with the Wizards reunited him with Michael Jordan. He returned to the Bulls in 2003, and retired in 2006.

## Later life

After retiring from basketball, Bach turned to painting. In 2007, thirty-two of his watercolors were put on display at the Sevan Gallery in Skokie, Illinois.

## Death

Bach died on January 18, 2016, in Chicago at the age of 91. Bach's funeral was held two days later on January 20, 2016, at the Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago. As a World War II US Navy Ensign he was buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.

## BAA career statistics
### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
| 1948–49 | Boston | 34 | .286 | .680 | .7 | 3.5 |
| Career | Career | 34 | .286 | .680 | .7 | 3.5 |

## Head coaching record
### College basketball

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Fordham Rams (Metropolitan New York Conference) (1950–1963) ||||||
| 1950–51 | Fordham | 20–8 | 3–3 | 2nd | |
| 1951–52 | Fordham | 20–8 | 3–3 | 4th | |
| 1952–53 | Fordham | 19–8 | 4–2 | 3rd | NCAA First Round |
| 1953–54 | Fordham | 18–6 | 3–1 | 2nd | NCAA First Round |
| 1954–55 | Fordham | 18–9 | 3–2 | 3rd | |
| 1955–56 | Fordham | 11–14 | 2–2 | 6th | |
| 1956–57 | Fordham | 16–10 | 2–2 | T–3rd | |
| 1957–58 | Fordham | 16–9 | 1–3 | 6th | NIT Quarterfinals |
| 1958–59 | Fordham | 17–8 | 2–2 | T–4th | NIT First Round |
| 1959–60 | Fordham | 8–18 | 1–3 | 5th | |
| 1960–61 | Fordham | 7–16 | 0–3 | 7th | |
| 1961–62 | Fordham | 10–14 | 1–3 | T–5th | |
| 1962–63 | Fordham | 18–8 | 4–1 | 1st | NIT First Round |
| Fordham Rams (Independent) (1963–1968) ||||||
| 1963–64 | Fordham | 9–11 | | | |
| 1964–65 | Fordham | 15–12 | | | NIT First Round |
| 1965–66 | Fordham | 10–15 | | | |
| 1966–67 | Fordham | 11–14 | | | |
| 1967–68 | Fordham | 19–8 | | | NIT Quarterfinals |
| Fordham: | Fordham: | 265–193 (.579) | 29–30 (.492) | | |
| Penn State Nittany Lions (Independent) (1968–1976) ||||||
| 1968–69 | Penn State | 13–9 | | | |
| 1969–70 | Penn State | 13–11 | | | |
| 1970–71 | Penn State | 10–12 | | | |
| 1971–72 | Penn State | 17–8 | | | |
| 1972–73 | Penn State | 15–8 | | | |
| 1973–74 | Penn State | 14–12 | | | |
| 1974–75 | Penn State | 11–12 | | | |
| 1975–76 | Penn State | 10–15 | | | |
| Penn State Nittany Lions (Eastern 8) (1976–1978) ||||||
| 1976–77 | Penn State | 11–15 | 5–5 | T–1st | |
| 1977–78 | Penn State | 8–19 | 4–6 | T–2nd | |
| Penn State: | Penn State: | 122–121 (.502) | 9–11 (.450) | | |
| Total: | Total: | 387–314(.552) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||

### Professional basketball

| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
| GSW | 1979–80 | 21 | 6 | 15 | .286 | 6th in Pacific | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| GSW | 1983–84 | 82 | 37 | 45 | .451 | 5th in Pacific | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| GSW | 1984–85 | 82 | 22 | 60 | .268 | 6th in Pacific | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| GSW | 1985–86 | 82 | 30 | 52 | .366 | 6th in Pacific | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| Career | | 267 | 95 | 172 | .356 | | - | - | - | .- |