Nat Frazier facts for kids
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 18, 1935 Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Died | September 22, 2019 (aged 84) Columbia, Maryland |
| Playing career | |
| ? | Tuskegee |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| ?–1967 | Delaware State (assistant) |
| 1967–1971 | Illinois (assistant) |
| 1971–1977 | Morgan State |
| 1977–1978 | New York Knicks (assistant) |
| 1979–1980 | Washington Metros |
| 1980–1982 | Bowie State |
| 1985–1989 | Morgan State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1979–1980 | Washington Metros (president) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA Division II tournament (1974) 2 MEAC regular season (1974, 1976) MEAC tournament (1976) |
|
| Awards | |
| AP College Division National Coach of the Year (1974) | |
Nathaniel "Nat" Frazier (born April 18, 1935 – died September 22, 2019) was a famous American basketball coach. He is best known for leading the men's basketball team at Morgan State University. In 1974, he guided them to win the Division II national championship. This was a huge achievement for the team.
Early Life and Coaching Start
Nat Frazier played college basketball at Tuskegee University. He was a talented player, earning a spot on the All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team twice.
After college, Frazier coached high school basketball for several years. He worked with teams in New York and New Jersey. He also earned a master's degree from the City College of New York.
His college coaching career began as an assistant coach. He first worked at Delaware State. Then, in 1967, he joined the Illinois team as an assistant. At that time, it was rare to see African-American coaches in the Big Ten.
Leading Morgan State to a Championship
In 1971, Nat Frazier became the head coach at Morgan State. One of his first important players was Marvin Webster. Webster was very tall, standing seven feet, and was nicknamed "the Human Eraser." This was because he was excellent at blocking shots.
During Webster's junior year in the 1973–74 season, the Morgan State Bears had an amazing run. They made it all the way to the NCAA Division II championship game. They played against Southwest Missouri State and won with a score of 67–52. This victory brought Morgan State its very first national championship. Because of this success, Frazier was named the national coach of the year by the Associated Press.
Coaching After Morgan State
After his big win at Morgan State, Frazier moved on to new challenges. In 1977, he joined the coaching staff of the New York Knicks. This is a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He worked with them for the 1977–78 season.
Later, he became the president and head coach of the Washington Metros. This team was part of the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), which was a short-lived league.
Frazier returned to college coaching in 1980. He became the head coach at Bowie State until 1982. He then came back to Morgan State in 1985. By this time, Morgan State was a Division I program, which is a higher level of college sports. He coached there for four more seasons.
Nat Frazier passed away on September 22, 2019, in Columbia, Maryland. He was 84 years old and left behind a great legacy in basketball.
