NBA Coaching innovator of the Triangle Offense, Fred 'Tex' Winter passed away at the Age of 96. Doug Gottlieb said the following about Tex on his Twitter page:
RIP to the great Morice Fredrick”Tex” Winter.Tex,was more than the architect of the greatest offense in basketball history.He was a 2x final four head coach at K-State when Wichita had Ralph Miller,KU had Phog Allen and OSU had Mr Iba. He was self deprecating not self centered.
Tex was flat out hilarious. He entertained while teaching, and though his commentary of a player’s game was honest and to the point, often times negative, his smile and humor softened any blow. His offense is misunderstood by the masses but helped MJ,Shaq and Kobe finally win.
Tex hired my dad in ‘81,let our family stay at his house for a month,gave my dad his ‘76 Honda Civic to hit the road recruiting-never asked for it when they were fired in 84. Every chance I received w/the #Lakers was because Tex believed in me even though I was bad fit for them.
Lastly. Tex Winter’s “Triple Post” which morphed into the Triangle, is a must read book for coaches. Long before it became en Vogue he taught perfect spacing. 15’-18’, every drill, even stretching. RIP to Tex Winter. MJ wouldn’t be The GOAT w/o you.