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Rick Adelman: Early Observations of a Hall of Famer

Some personal anecdotes about the early days of NBA Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Adelman.

Thomas Budds | June 6, 2026

I am inspired to relate some personal anecdotes about the early days of NBA Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Adelman's sports career; I was there at the beginning of his journey. This is not a eulogy, rather a couple of my 66-year-old anecdotes that have relevance to the futures of talented young people beyond athletics.

Upon learning of Rick's death this week, my mind flashed to a particular high school basketball game. Rick and I were teammates for four years aon the St. Pius X Catholic High School team, known as the “Warriors." He played guard, and I was a forward. We were in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs in both 1963 and '64, it was a sudden-death elimination format; we took 3rd place as Juniors in '63, defeating Compton High School.

In '64, following an hours-long bus ride from our school in South Gate to San Bernardino, we handily defeated the formidable and highly ranked Mira Costa High School team by nearly 40 points, a lot at any level, before a hostile crowd. I remember Rick stealing a pass made by one of the Mesa players. Unchallenged, he streaked to their basket, but missed the layup. I had followed him on the breakaway and was able to grab the rebound in........

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