mGrowOld

August 28th, 2017 at 11:22 PM ^

I mean as much as you can like the coach of your biggest in-state rival.  He was there when I was in school and thanks to Magic & Kessler we didnt fare too well against them.  But he didnt run his mouth (or at least i dont remember him doing so) and I always had a ton of respect for the way he coached that team.  Prolly one of my favorite Sparty's to be honest (and there arent many of them).

RIP coach.

Cromulent

August 29th, 2017 at 12:40 AM ^

This. Jud was a good man and a fine coach. And when his teams had a PG they were awfully fun to watch. Jud never had a problem giving a good point the keys and allowing him to drive the car as fast as he wanted.

RIP.

Alumnus93

August 29th, 2017 at 9:21 AM ^

He was the epitome of the sparty I liked.... respectful and fun.  I still remember that video of him chucking the ball down and hitting floor and missed it on way up and clocks himself.  His teams were fun to watch.. RIP

Bando Calrissian

August 28th, 2017 at 11:39 PM ^

Glad I got to see him coach at the very end. I was at the game at Crisler his final season, which had turned into the typical Big 10 farewell tour. Pretty sure the Athletic Department gave him the traditional rocking chair and everything. And then they went and stole a close one.

Classy guy, coached some great teams. And did his legacy well with the way he mentored Tom Izzo--even if those first few seasons were a bit rocky. 

uminks

August 29th, 2017 at 12:17 AM ^

Who always looked grumpy but was nice. '79 was the only time in my life I was pulling for Sparty and Jud to win the national championship. I was in the 10th grade and remember Michigan beating MSU at home in a low scoring game then getting blown out by MSU on the road. Orr had been in a funk for two years and would eventually leave for Iowa after the 1981 season.

wolpherine2000

August 29th, 2017 at 12:20 AM ^

He used to play handball at the Michigan Athletic Club when I was in high school. I was probably 16 when my friend and I challenged him and his partner to a game. He was solidly in his 70s, wearing two knee braces and socks up to his shorts. Dude hardly moved at all, and they killed us.

ST3

August 29th, 2017 at 12:21 AM ^

I went to basketball camp at UofM and MSU. Frieder let Fisher run the camp. Jud ran MSU's camp. He demonstrated what to do for every drill. He was an excellent shooting instructor. All his guards left the program as better shooters, from Terry Donnelly to Scott Skiles. Jud lived several streets over from me in a typical middle class home. He was a humble guy and a hard worker. He is far and away my favorite spartan. Kudos to him for rockin' the Spike Albrecht haircut decades before Spike made it famous.

George Patton

August 29th, 2017 at 12:42 AM ^

I had not thought about Coach Heathcote in years, and I'm mildly surprised to realize he made it to 90 years.  In terms of ability to scream at the refs until he was red in the face, he was second only to Bobby Knight.  Expressing righteous anger must be better for your health than I had thought.

RIP

SpaceDad

August 29th, 2017 at 12:40 AM ^

Jud Heathcote was an absolute class act and a tremendous coach. He was a great man who deserved all of the praise heaped upon him by Tom Izzo in that linked article. It's sad to see him go. May God rest his soul.

1VaBlue1

August 29th, 2017 at 7:18 AM ^

RIP, coach. Class act and deserving of our respect. That 79 team was fun to watch, glad they beat Iowa State even though I was a huge fan of the way Larry Bird played the game.

Everyone Murders

August 29th, 2017 at 7:33 AM ^

I'm prone to find fault with MSU's coaches, but never could find an ax to grind with Jud Heathcote.  He built that program into something formidable, and conducted himself extremely well from what I recall.

All the best to his family and friends as they cope with their loss.

Der Alte

August 29th, 2017 at 9:20 AM ^

Some might remember back in the 90s when State was scheduled to meet Kentucky's Murray State University in an NCAA tournament game. In an interview Jud said "I guarantee MSU will win." Well duh, given that both teams were MSU, he was quite right and most of us laughed at the joke. Believe it or not, however, some people criticized Jud for "guaranteeing his team would win." I'm sure Jud shook his pretty much hairless head at that one. 

For those of us who followed M BB during Jud's tenure at MSU, we remember him as a good person who brought humor and a human touch to the game. RIP.

ElBictors

August 29th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^

Definitely a character ...and part of my memories as a kid watching hoops, growing up in Michigan.

 

How he'd punch his own forehead while yelling at the refs and his hair getting all crazy..!!

 

Sad news.

pugboy

August 29th, 2017 at 1:34 PM ^

Back in the mid-eighties I worked in Lansing and a buddy and I at work were running a charity event and went to MSU basketball and football offices to get items to raffle off. We were ushered into Judd's office and we explained to him what we were doing and he sent an assistant down to get a bunch of stuff to raffle off, and we were just bantering back and forth and my friend said, "pugboy here is the biggest Michigan fan there is", well Judd said "is that so?" And he said "I got something for you", and reach across his desk and gave me the finger and said "take that Michigan fan", and then laughed like crazy. It was one of the few times in life that I was totally taken aback by something and didn't say a word except laugh.

rob f

August 29th, 2017 at 4:31 PM ^

Enemy or not, Jud always seemed to be a class act. I loved his antics from the bench as much as I loved his press conferences and as much as I hated his teams.

Condolences to his family and friends. Jud was truly a good man and coach.