Biography

Heathcote was born in Harvey, North Dakota, to Marion Grant Heathcote and Fawn (Walsh) Heathcote. Two years after his father died in a 1930 diphtheria epidemic, he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents in Manchester, Washington, and lived there for the rest of his childhood.

Coaching career

The stint at Montana was the first for Heathcote as head coach of a college varsity program. Previously, he had coached at West Valley High School in Spokane, Washington for 14 seasons, and at Washington State University for seven years, five seasons as freshman coach and two seasons as frosh-varsity coach.

In the 1974-75 season at Montana, he led them to their first Big Sky Conference championship. The Grizzlies advanced to the NCAA Regionals, losing to eventual tournament champion UCLA.

Heathcote was then hired by Joseph Kearney to take on the head basketball coaching job at Michigan State in 1976 and began the most successful phase of his coaching career. In his third season at Michigan State, Heathcote guided the Spartans to the 1979 NCAA Championship. The Spartans, led by Magic Johnson, defeated the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores in the title game.

In his 19 years at Michigan State, the Spartans made nine NCAA Tournament appearances and three National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances. As a coach, Heathcote was particularly noted for his excellent defensive strategies on the court and was second to none in blocking the opposing team from penetrating to the hoop. Heathcote retired after the 1994-95 season, having won 418 games and lost 275, for a .603 winning percentage. He was succeeded by Tom Izzo, a thirteen-year assistance coah and associate head coach for Heathcote's final five seasons.

Retirement

After retiring from coaching, Heathcote returned to Spokane, where he still lives. He played handball until well into his seventies, and continues to play recreational golf. While Heathcote continues to follow Michigan State during the college season, his primary basketball interest is now the local Gonzaga University; he attends all Bulldogs home games, and has a monthly lunch with head coach Mark Few.

Coaching tree

Several of Heathcote's former assistants and players went on to successful head coaching jobs including:

• Mike Deane: Siena, Marquette, Lamar, Wagner
• Tom Izzo: Michigan State
• Scott Skiles: Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic
• Stan Joplin: Toledo
• Jim Brandenburg: Wyoming
• Mike Montgomery: Montana, Stanford, California
• Don Monson: Idaho, Oregon
• Mark Montgomery: Northern Illinois
• Brian Gregory: Dayton, Georgia Tech
• Tom Crean: Marquette, Indiana

Head coaching record

College

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Montana Grizzlies (Big Sky Conference)
1971-72	Montana	14-12	7-7	T-4th
1972-73	Montana	13-13	7-7	4th
1973-74	Montana	19-8	11-3	T-1st
1974-75	Montana	21-8	13-1	1st	NCAA Regional Fourth Place
1975-76	Montana	13-12	7-7	5th
Montana:		80-53	45-25
Michigan State Spartans (Big Ten Conference)
1976-77	Michigan State	12-15	9-9	6th
1977-78	Michigan State	25-5	15-3	1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1978-79	Michigan State	26-6	13-5	1st	NCAA Champions
1979-80	Michigan State	12-15	6-12	8th
1980-81	Michigan State	13-14	7-11	8th
1981-82	Michigan State	11-17	6-12	T-7th
1982-83	Michigan State	17-13	9-9	T-6th	NIT Second Round
1983-84	Michigan State	16-12	9-9	5th
1984-85	Michigan State	19-10	10-8	T-5th	NCAA First Round
1985-86	Michigan State	23-8	12-6	3rd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1986-87	Michigan State	11-17	6-12	7th
1987-88	Michigan State	10-18	5-13	8th
1988-89	Michigan State	18-15	6-12	T-8th	NIT Semifinal
1989-90	Michigan State	28-6	15-3	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1990-91	Michigan State	19-11	11-7	T-3rd	NCAA Second Round
1991-92	Michigan State	22-8	11-7	T-3rd	NCAA Second Round
1992-93	Michigan State	15-13	7-11	T-8th	NIT First Round
1993-94	Michigan State	20-12	10-8	T-4th	NCAA Second Round
1994-95	Michigan State	22-6	14-4	2nd	NCAA First Round
Michigan State:		339-221	181-161
Total:		419-274

[ Source: Wikipedia ]