Dan Issel

Issel was born in Batavia, Illinois, son of Robert and Elanor Issel, and grew up with sister Kathi and brother Greg. Robert Issel owned and operated Issel Painting & Decorating.[2] Issel attended Batavia High School, graduating in 1967 as an All-American playing for Coach Don Vandersnick.[3] Issel led Batavia to its first Sectional title as a senior, hitting the game-winning shot against Naperville Central High School to win the title. As a senior, Issel averaged 25.8 points on Batavia's 26-3 team.[1]

Growing up in Batavia, Issel's backyard met up with his friend Ken Anderson’s back yard. Anderson's father was a janitor at Batavia High School, and the Issel property on Harrison Street backed onto that of the Andersons' on Republic Road.[4] Growing up together, Issel and Anderson rode in Issel's red Ford convertible and frequented the Twin Elms restaurant. Later, Anderson and Issel would co-own a 782 farm in Kentucky.[4] Anderson became a National Football League quarterback with the Cincinnati Bengals and the 1981 NFL Most Valuable Player.[5] Another neighbor and teammate, Byron Von Hoff, played basketball and other sports at Batavia with Anderson and Issel. Von Hoff was the 21st pick of the New York Mets in the 1966 amateur baseball draft and pitched successfully in the minor leagues before an injury ended his career.[6][1] Another teammate at Batavia was future sports announcer Craig Sager, who was a freshman when Issel was a senior.[7][4] Said Issel of his Batavia teammates: “What Batavia instilled in all three of us –– myself, Kenny, and Craig –– was a solid work ethic."[5]

According to Sports Illustrated: Don VanDersnick showed Issel how to dunk by training him with a volleyball and had Issel jump up and grab the rim 50 times each day at practice. Issel did not start for Batavia High's basketball team until he was a junior and considered himself fortunate that he had Don Vandersnick as his coach, saying, "If he'd told us that if we dove off a water tower it would make us better basketball players, there would have been a line waiting to do it."[4]

A jersey honoring Issel hangs in Rupp Arena

Issel was recruited by Northwestern, Illinois and Wisconsin, but he chose Kentucky.[4] Issel then played college basketball at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp.

As a senior at Kentucky, Issel averaged 33.9 points per game (36.0 in the NCAA Tournament) to help Kentucky reach the Elite Eight.[8]

Issel was at UK 1966–1970 and scored 2,138 points (an average of 25.7 per game) and had 1078 rebounds, while being named an All American for two of the three seasons he was eligible for the award. His career points total remains the highest among UK men's players.

According to Sports Illustrated Magazine: In a game early in Issel's Kentucky career, teammates were neglecting to give him the ball, so Rupp called a timeout, and said, "This guy is going to be Kentucky's all-time leading scorer by the time he's through here. I thought you might like to meet him."[9]

On February 7, 1970, Issel scored 53 points in a 120–85 victory over Ole Miss, breaking Cliff Hagan's single-game record of 51. Issel's mark held for almost four decades, until Jodie Meeks scored 54 points against Tennessee on January 13, 2009.[10] Issel also scored 51 at Louisiana State University on February 21, 1970, currently the third-best mark in school history.[11]

A three-year starter for Kentucky, Issel led his team to three Southeastern Conference titles and set 23 school records in his career.[12]

After his playing career Issel retired to his Courtland horse farm in Woodford County, Kentucky. He spent a year doing color commentary for Kentucky basketball games then became a Nuggets broadcaster from 1988 to 1992.

Even with no coaching experience, Bernie Bickerstaff recruited him as Nuggets head coach in 1992. In 1994, Issel led his team to the playoffs with their first winning record in four years, after only winning 44 games in the previous two years. That year, the Nuggets pulled off the biggest upset to that date in National Basketball Association (NBA) playoff history, knocking off the Seattle SuperSonics in five games (the first ever 8th seed to beat a 1st seed in the first round). He resigned 34 games into the 1994–95 season after facing criticism for his coaching style, saying he didn't like the person he'd become.

He returned in 1998 as president and general manager, naming himself head coach again in December 1999, yielding his general manager's title to Kiki Vandeweghe. His second tenure was far less successful; the Nuggets did not post a winning season during this time. He was hampered in part by a drawn-out effort to find a new owner; two deals to sell the team collapsed at the last minute. Just before the start of the 1999–2000 season, he told reporters that there were several decisions he simply couldn't make due to the unstable ownership situation.[15]

In 2000, Issel faced a team mutiny after angering his team for criticizing them after a winless four-game Eastern road trip. The Nuggets' team captains called a boycott of their next practice, prompting interest from CNN and other news outlets. The team saw some improvement later in the season, but missed the playoffs with a 40–42 record.[16]

His tenure ended on a rather sour note in December 2001. On December 11, after a close loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Issel heard a fan taunting him as he walked off the court at the Pepsi Center. Issel taunted back, "Go drink another beer, you Mexican piece of shit."[17] The incident was captured on Denver's NBC affiliate, KUSA-TV. Issel was suspended four games by the team. Issel publicly apologized the next day, and on Friday met with Hispanic chamber representatives, who accepted his apology.[18] However, several members of Denver's Hispanic community thought the suspension was insufficient punishment, and called for him to be fired. Hours before he was due to return, Issel took a leave of absence to decide whether he wanted to return. Issel decided to resign on December 26.

Issel's wife Cheri, whom he met at the University of Kentucky, is an accomplished artist. Cheri was a cheerleader at Kentucky, They have two children, Sheridan and Scott.[19][20] Greg Issel, Dan's younger brother, was a star forward on Batavia teams in 1968 and 1969, following Dan. Greg Issel died suddenly of heart failure in 1998 at the age of 46.[21]

Issel filed for bankruptcy in 2009, claiming a $4.5 million debt to at least 34 creditors. To defray his debts, he sold off his 1969 Look All-America Kentucky All-Star ring, 1970 Kentucky class ring, a 1975 25th anniversary ABA All-Star ring, and a 1989 NBA All-Star ring.

In 2011, Issel lived in Los Angeles where he was executive director at the Bel Air Presbyterian Church.[22] As of 2014, he lives in Windsor, Colorado, employed in the oil and gas business.[23]

In 2017, Issel served as speaker at Batavia High School's gymnasium to honor a family friend, fellow Batavia classmate and national sportscaster Craig Sager after Sager's death. Sager and Issel were basketball teammates at Batavia High School, when Sager was a freshman and Issel a senior.[5][7]

In February 2018, Issel's ties to the Kentucky Colonels home of Louisville, Kentucky, led him to become President of the Louisville Basketball Investment and Support Group, a Kentucky-based limited liability company founded in 2016 to pursue an NBA franchise.[24]

• Issel was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1973.[3]

• In 1985, Issel received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.[25]

• In 1985, Issel's jersey #44 was retired by the Denver Nuggets.[26]

• Issel was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.[27]

• In 1993, Issel was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[25]

• Issel was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.[11]

• In 2006, Issel was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.[28]

• Issel was inducted into the Batavia High School Hall of Honor in 2015.[29]

• In 2018, Issel was inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.[30]

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Bio of Issel reads:

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds

• Dan Issel stats at Basketball-Reference
• Legends profile: Dan Issel