ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 27, 1994                   TAG: 9405270031
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Short

WILKENS NAMED NBA'S TOP COACH

Lenny Wilkens, who accomplished more than he thought possible in his first season with the Atlanta Hawks, was rewarded for his efforts Thursday when he was chosen NBA Coach of the Year.

In his 21st season as a head coach, Wilkens guided the Hawks to a 57-25 record, an improvement of 14 games over their 1992-93 mark. Atlanta won its first Central Division title since 1987 and tied the New York Knicks for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

The 57 victories tied a franchise record and made Wilkens the second coach to surpass 900 victories in the NBA and left him 12 short of Red Auerbach's record.

The Hawks reached the Eastern Conference semifinal series for the first time since 1988, but were upset in six games by Indiana.

"I think it's always disappointing when you don't go on further, but you also have to look at what we did," said Wilkens, who came to Atlanta after seven years as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Wilkens won an NBA title with Seattle in 1979, but this is his first Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA's best coach. He received 71 of a possible 101 votes from a nationwide panel of NBA writers and broadcasters, three from each league city and 20 representing the national media.

Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls finished second with 16 votes, followed by George Karl of Seattle with eight, Rudy Tomjanovich of Houston with three and Don Nelson of Golden State, Pat Riley of New York and Chuck Daly of New Jersey with one each.

Keywords:
BASKETBALL 


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