Congratulations are in order for former San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Hank Egan as he will be 
inducted into the University of San Diego’s Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the university’s annual Alumni Honors event Saturday.
Egan would spent the next decade at USD, compiling a 156-126 record and guiding Toreros basketball into NCAA legitimacy despite playing in the 2,500-seat bandbox of the Sports Center. The 1986-87 team went 24-6, led the nation in defensive field-goal percentage and made the school’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level.
Known for his great defensive mind, Egan helped the Spurs win their first NBA title in 1999 against the New York Knicks and actually coached Spurs’ Gregg Popovich while Pop was playing for the Air Force Academy. While with San Antonio, the Spurs had a 403-221 (.646) record, made seven trips to the NBA Playoffs and helped the Spurs to five division titles and the NBA’s best record four times.
He recently retired from basketball and his most recent stint in the NBA was with former Spurs assistant coach, now head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mike Brown when Brown was in Cleveland.
And though being a coach comes with a lot of headaches, Egan says he misses it all:
“If somebody offered me a job tomorrow, I’d probably go,” Egan says. “I just love it. You’re dealing with people, you’re dealing with circumstances, you’re dealing with situations. You’re alive. You’re in the hunt. I enjoy being around young people trying to do something, because what I am is a teacher.
“You can sum up all the things I think I am, but what I really am is a teacher. And my field is basketball.”
Kudos to Egan. He deserve this honor and more. However, seeing how he would take a job offer immediately, perhaps the Spurs can bring back Egan and help the Spurs resurrect their once mighty defense.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
