Al Bianchi
Alfred A. "Al" Bianchi (born March 26, 1932) is a former professional basketball player, coach, general manager, consultant and scout.
Nicknamed "Blinky", he attended P.S. 4 elementary school, and graduated from Long Island City High School in 1950. A 1954 graduate of Bowling Green State University, he was voted to the “All-Ohio Team” and received honorable mention as a basketball All-American. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corp from 1954 to 1956. Starting in 1956, he played for the Syracuse Nationals of the NBA. He moved with the team to Philadelphia when it became the 76ers for the 1963-64 season. He was one of the last proponents in the NBA of the two-handed set shot.
Coaching career
On May 1, 1966, Bianchi was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA expansion draft but never played in a game for them and retired as a player. He then became assistant coach under former teammate Johnny "Red" Kerr, head coach of the Bulls. After a year in Chicago, he was hired as head coach of the expansion team Seattle SuperSonics, compiling a 53-111 record for the new NBA franchise.