Gene Shue, a Towson Catholic and Maryland graduate who played and coached in the NBA, dies

Gene Shue, a Baltimore native who graduated from Towson Catholic High School and the University of Maryland before playing and coaching in the NBA for a combined 33 years, died Sunday at his home in Marina Del Ray, California. Mr. Shue, who was 90, had previously suffered from melanoma.

Born in Baltimore seven days before Christmas in 1931, Mr. Shue grew up in the Govans neighborhood. He told The Sun that his family lived on welfare and that he did not own a basketball as a child. He also said he grew up rooting for the Baltimore Bulls and Buddy Jeannette.

Towson Catholic’s decision to shut down in 2009 stunned and disappointed Mr. Shue, a 1950 graduate. He told The Sun that attending Towson Catholic helped prepare him for college.

“I have great memories of that place,” he said. “The nuns were fantastic. It was a small community and you wanted to be there. Sometimes I had to hitchhike from my home in Govans, but it was worth it.”

Mr. Shue’s path to Maryland was not smooth. He initially wished to play for well-established programs such as Loyola Maryland and Georgetown, but he was turned away by the Greyhounds and placed on the waitlist by the Hoyas.

Mr. Shue then opted to play for the Terps, but did not receive a scholarship until his senior year in 1953-54. He worked odd jobs such as cleaning the basketball court to help alleviate costs.

Despite that rocky start, Shue and coach Bud Millikan lifted Maryland to its first 20-win campaign with 23 in 1953-54, its first national ranking which peaked at No. 13 in 1953-54, and membership to the Atlantic Coast Conference. When Shue graduated in 1954, he had rewritten every scoring record and developed into the school’s first high-profile NBA prospect.

Mr. Shue was selected by the Philadelphia Warriors as the third overall pick of the 1954 NBA draft. But after just six games, he was shipped to the New York Knicks.

After the 1955-56 season, Mr. Shue was traded to the Fort Wayne Pistons, which moved to Detroit for the 1957-58 season. With the Pistons, he earned appearances in five consecutive All-Star Games and helped the franchise reach the playoffs five times.

In 1959-60, Mr. Shue averaged 22.8 points and 5.5 rebounds, led the league in total minutes with 3,338, and ranked second in free-throw percentage at .872 en route to being named to the All-NBA first team. The following season, he averaged 22.6 points, 6.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds and shot a career-high 42.1 percent for a spot on the All-NBA second team. And in 1960-61, he averaged 19.0 points and 5.8 assists.

But after that season, Mr. Shue was sent back to the Knicks. And in 1963, he was traded to the Baltimore Bullets where he played one year before retiring.

Mr. Shue then shifted to coaching where as a 35-year-old newcomer, he took over a Bullets team with a 4-21 midseason record en route to a 16-40 mark. Two years later, he guided the organization to the NBA’s best record (57-25), which was also the Bullets’ first winning season. He led the franchise to two more 50-win campaigns (50-32 in 1969-70 and 52-30 in 1972-73) and an NBA Finals appearance in 1970-71 where Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Milwaukee Bucks cruised to a four-game sweep for the championship.

But Mr. Shue resigned on June 8, 1973, citing a discomfort with the organization’s move from Baltimore to Landover, Maryland. Seven days later, he signed a two-year contract to succeed Kevin Loughery and coach the Philadelphia 76ers.

Four years after the franchise had lost an NBA-record 73 games, Mr. Shue guided the 76ers to a 50-32 record in 1976-77 that ended with a series loss to Bill Walton and the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals. He was fired by new team owner Fitz Dixon six games into the 1977-78 season.

After less than two seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers, Mr. Shue returned to the Bullets – who dropped the Baltimore designation for Washington – after signing a three-year contract on May 27, 1980 to replace Dick Motta. In six seasons, he led the franchise to three playoff appearances (1981-82, 1983-84 and 1984-85).

Mr. Shue’s final coaching foray, which began on May 21, 1987, took him back to the Clippers whom he helmed for less than two seasons. His coaching career included a regular-season record of 784-861, a playoff mark of 30-47, and NBA Coach of the Year honors in 1968 and 1981.

Mr. Shue also served as general manager of the 76ers for less than two years. He was inducted into Maryland’s Hall of Fame in 1991 and was unsuccessfully nominated five times for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

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