# John Shumate

John Henry Shumate (April 6, 1952 – February 3, 2025) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Phoenix Suns, Buffalo Braves, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Seattle SuperSonics from 1975 to 1981. His playing career was cut short by recurring issues with blood clots. Shumate was the head coach for the Grand Canyon Antelopes and SMU Mustangs and an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the NBA and Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.

## Early life and career

Shumate, the son of a minister, was born on April 6, 1952, in Greenville, South Carolina. Shumate grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and played high school basketball at Thomas Jefferson High School. He was a high school All-American in his senior year. He starred in the Sonny Hill League in Philadelphia.
Shumate received a scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in sociology. Shumate had an excellent year for the Fighting Irish men’s basketball team in his freshman season, but missed his sophomore season due to problems with blood clots in his leg and a viral infection near his heart. He spent nine days in intensive care, losing 45 pounds. The clotting problem would plague him into his future basketball career.
He returned to play as a junior, averaging 21 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, and 24.2 points and 11 rebounds per game as a senior, under coach Digger Phelps. After a 6–20 record the previous year, the team had an 18–12 record his junior year, and went to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). He was twice the Fighting Irish team captain, a two-time All-American, including a consensus All-American as a senior selected to both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) All-America teams.
Shumate was the center on the Notre Dame team that ended the University of California at Los Angeles' (UCLA) NCAA-record 88-game winning streak on January 19, 1974; UCLA's first loss in 1,092 days. Shumate starred on offense and defense, and led all players in rebounding that day. The Fighting Irish ended the year with at 26–3 record, ranked 5th in the nation, and went to the NCAA tournament.
On March 5, 2005, Shumate was named to Notre Dame's All-Century Team. In 2022, Shumate was inducted into Notre Dame's Ring of Honor. He ranks first in Notre Dame history with a .610 field goal percentage.

## Professional basketball

The Phoenix Suns drafted Shumate in the first round of the 1974 NBA draft, fourth overall. A 6 ft 9 in forward/center, Shumate played five seasons (1975–1978; 1979–1981) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Phoenix Suns, Buffalo Braves, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Seattle SuperSonics. He did not play in the 1974-75 season, after a blood clot was found in his lung, and did not play in the 1978-1979 season after the blood clotting recurred during the off-season.
He earned NBA All-Rookie Team honors in his first season after averaging 11.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game, and virtually tying Wes Unseld for the league lead in field goal percentage at .561. He was traded in February 1976, during his rookie year, to the Buffalo Braves for five-year veteran Gar Heard and a second round draft pick, as part of the Suns' pursuit of an NBA title that year. The Suns did make it to the NBA finals, but lost to the Boston Celtics 4–2. Shumate was fifth in rookie of the year voting, with the Suns' center Alvan Adams winning the award.
In the 1976-77 season for the Buffalo Braves, Shumate had his best year, averaging 15.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Early the next season, Buffalo traded Shumate, Gus Gerard and a 1979 first round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons for Marvin Barnes, a 1978 second round pick and fourth round pick. He averaged 15.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in 62 games for the Pistons. Barnes had been a first team All-American selection in 1974 with Shumate (along with Bill Walton, David Thompson, and Jamaal Wilkes).
Shumate lost the following season (1978-79) to blood clots, and was never a full-time player again. He returned to play for the 1979-80 season, but was waived by the San Antonio Spurs in December 1980 of his final season, and did not play in the NBA again. Over the course of his career, Shumate averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Shumate also appeared as a member of the Detroit team in the cult classic basketball film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh in 1979, alongside Pistons teammates Bob Lanier, Eric Money, Chris Ford, Kevin Porter, and Leon Douglas.

## Coaching career and later life

Shumate was a volunteer assistant coach to Notre Dame's Digger Phelps for 2½ years after retiring from the NBA, before becoming head coach at Grand Canyon College (now Grand Canyon University). He coached Grand Canyon from 1983-1986, with a 58–33 record. In the 1984-85 season, the team made it to the finals of the NAIA District VIII Playoffs.
Shumate later coached for the Southern Methodist University Mustangs for seven seasons (1988-95). His best season was 1992-93, when the Mustangs went 20–8, won the Southwest Conference title, and went to the NCAA tournament (losing in the first round). He was an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors for three seasons (1995-98), and head coach of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury in 2003. He was an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns in 2009-10, having previously served as a college scout for the Suns. He continued as a Suns' scout after his assistant coaching ended.
Shumate also appeared in a series of basketball training videos. He died on February 3, 2025, at the age of 72.

## Head coaching record
### College

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Grand Canyon Antelopes (NAIA District VII) (1983–1986) ||||||
| 1983–84 | Grand Canyon | 21–9 | | | |
| 1984–85 | Grand Canyon | 18–16 | | | |
| 1985–86 | Grand Canyon | 18–9 | | | |
| Grand Canyon: | Grand Canyon: | 57–34 | | | |
| SMU Mustangs (Southwest Conference) (1988–1995) ||||||
| 1988–89 | SMU | 13–16 | 7–9 | 7th | |
| 1989–90 | SMU | 10–18 | 5–11 | T–7th | |
| 1990–91 | SMU | 12–17 | 6–10 | 6th | |
| 1991–92 | SMU | 10–18 | 4–10 | 7th | |
| 1992–93 | SMU | 20–8 | 12–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I First Round |
| 1993–94 | SMU | 6–21 | 3–11 | T–7th | |
| 1994–95 | SMU | 7–20 | 3–11 | T–7th | |
| SMU: | SMU: | 78–118 | 40–64 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 135–152 | | | |
| 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 ||||||

### WNBA

| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
| Phoenix | 2003 | 34 | 8 | 26 | .235 | 7th in Western | – | – | – | – | |
| Career | Career | 34 | 8 | 26 | .235 | | – | – | – | | |