Tom Jorgensen

American basketball player and coach

Tom Jorgenson

Jorgensen from 1956 Michigan team portrait

Biographical details
Born| (1935-01-02)January 2, 1935
Illinois, United States
Died| November 29, 2013(2013-11-29) (aged 78)
Playing career
1953–1956| Michigan
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1960–1966| Michigan (asst.)
1966–1973| Northern Illinois
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 Midwestern regular season (1972)
Awards
Midwestern Coach of the Year (1972)

Thomas A. Jorgensen, Jr.(January 2, 1935 – November 29, 2013)[1] was an American basketball coach and player.[2][3] He was the head coach of the Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball from 1966 to 1973, compiling a record of 95–61 (.609). He played college basketball at the University of Michigan from 1953 to 1956. He was also an assistant basketball coach at Michigan from 1960 to 1966.

## Early years

[edit]

Jorgensen attended Parker High School in the Chicago's Englewood neighborhood.[4]

## University of Michigan

[edit]

Jorgensen played college basketball at the University of Michigan from 1953 to 1956. He was the team's second leading scorer for three consecutive years. He had a career total of 862 points for the Wolverines.[5][6] He was also selected as the captain of the 1955–56 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team.[6][7] In 1955, The Michigan Daily wrote of Jorgensen: "His deadly outside set shot and excellent dribbling ability made him one of the Big Ten's best all-around ballplayers."[7]

## Coaching and scouting career

[edit]

After graduating from Michigan, Jorgensen became a basketball coach at Maumee High School near Toledo, Ohio. He also played in the Toledo Amateur Basketball Federation where he was the high scorer in 1957.[8]

Jorgensen was hired in 1960 as an assistant basketball coach under Dave Strack at Michigan.[9] He remained in that position through 1966.[10]

In 1966, Jorgensen was hired as the head coach of the Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team. He remained there for seven seasons. He compiled a record of 95–61 (.609) at Northern Illinois and led the team to the 1972 Midwestern Conference championship. Jorgensen's 1971–72 team defeated No. 5-ranked Indiana (85–71) and was ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll.[11] Jorgensen resigned as the head coach at Northern Illinois in March 1973.[12][13] Jorgensen was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.[14]

In February 1975, Joregensen was hired as the supervisor of basketball officials for the Western Athletic Conference.[15]

In 1988, Jorgensen was hired as the chief scout for the Charlotte Hornets.[16]

## Head coaching record

[edit]

Statistics overview  Season  | Team  | Overall  | Conference  | Standing  | Postseason

|
|
|
|
|

Northern Illinois Huskies (NCAA University Division Independent) (1966–1970)
1966–67 | Northern Illinois  | 8–12 |  |  |
1967–68 | Northern Illinois  | 10–14 |  |  |
1968–69 | Northern Illinois  | 13–11 |  |  |
1969–70 | Northern Illinois  | 13–12 |  |  |
Northern Illinois Huskies  (Midwestern Conference) (1970–1972)
1970–71 | Northern Illinois  | 13–10 | 4–4 | 3rd |
1971–72 | Northern Illinois  | 21–4 | 7–1 | 1st |
Northern Illinois Huskies  (NCAA University Division Independent) (1972–1973)
1972–73 | Northern Illinois  | 17–8 |  |  |
Northern Illinois: | 82–49 (.626) | 11–5 (.688) |
Total: | 95–61 (.609) |

National champion Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Thomas A. Jorgensen". Cremation Society of Colorado. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
2. ^ Korcek, Mark (29 November 2013). "Former NIU basketball coach Jorgensen passes away". Daily Chronicle. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
3. ^ "Tom Jorgensen, Class of 1956". Alumni Association of the Michigan Alpha Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. December 2, 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
4. ^ "Parker Wins on Jorgensen's 31 Points, 51 to 42". Chicago Daily Tribune. January 30, 1952. p. B2.
5. ^ "Statistics Archives, Men's Basketball Statistic Archive Query Page". University of Michigan.
6. ^ a b "University of Michigan Basketball Record Book" (PDF). University of Michigan. pp. 31–32.
7. ^ a b "Cagers Pick Jorgenson". The Michigan Daily. March 10, 1955.
8. ^ "Fed Basketball Players Begin Final Week of First Round: Jorgensen Leads American League in Point-Making". Toledo Blade. January 27, 1957.
9. ^ "2 Ex-Michigan Aces Become Cage Aids". The Milwaukee Sentinel. June 8, 1960.
10. ^ "Cage Fortunes Rise With Strack". The Michigan Daily. March 11, 1965.
11. ^ "The Boys Of Tom Jorgensen Men's Cage Era Return For Northern Illinois University Reunion". Northern Illinois University. June 6, 2005.
12. ^ Roy Damer (March 27, 1973). "Jorgensen resigns post at N. Illinois". Chicago Tribune. p. C4.
13. ^ Robert Markus (March 29, 1973). "Timing wrong for Jorgensen at NU". Chicago Tribune. p. C3.
14. ^ "NIU honors six new hall of fame inductees". Daily Herald. October 16, 1998.
15. ^ "Jorgensen hired". Tuscaloosa News. February 26, 1975.
16. ^ "Transactions". Schenectady Gazette. June 7, 1988.

* v
* t
* e

Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball head coaches

* John A. H. Keith (1900–1902)
* Fred Charles (1902–1903)
* William Crocker (1903–1904)
* John A. H. Keith (1904–1905)
* Harry Sauthoff (1905–1906)
* Nelson A. Kellogg (1906–1910)
* William Wirtz (1910–1918)
* Ralph Wagner (1918–1920)
* Milo Oakland (1920–1923)
* William Muir (1923–1926)
* Roland Cowell (1926–1929)
* Chick Evans (1929–1940)
* Ralph McKinzie (1940–1948)
* Gene Fekete (1948–1949)
* Gilbert Wilson (1949–1950)
* Gilman Hertz (1950–1954)
* William Healey (1954–1963)
* Ev Cochrane (1963–1966)
* Tom Jorgensen (1966–1973)
* Emory Luck (1973–1976)
* John McDougal (1976–1986)
* Jim Rosborough (1986–1989)
* Jim Molinari (1989–1991)
* Brian Hammel (1991–2000)
* Andy Greer # (2000–2001)
* Rob Judson (2001–2007)
* Ricardo Patton (2007–2011)
* Mark Montgomery (2011–2021)
* Lamar Chapman # (2021)
* Rashon Burno (2021– )

# denotes interim head coach
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