Biography on Jerry Sloan
Gerald Eugene Sloan was born on March 28, 1942 in McLeansboro, Illinois. He started basketball at high school, but was not recognized until he played at the college level. After finishing high school, he went on to college, playing at the University of Evansville. He led the Purple Aces in scoring for each of his three starting seasons, averaging 15.5 points per game. He led the team twice to the NCAA Division 2 Tournament, and was chosen to be a second team All-American in his senior year.

Sloan didn't stay in college forever, though, and was drafted in the third round of the 1964 NBA draft by the Baltimore Bullets. After only one year of playing with the Bullets, he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. He was one of the first Bulls in the draft, getting him the nickname "The Original Bull." The National Basketball Association knew him as a great defender, and one who led the Bulls to the national playoffs in their first season.

Jerry was well respected in his NBA career, and was named the NBA All-Defensive First Team four times, and All-Defensive Second Team twice. Not only did he have such success on defense, but he led the Bulls to the playoffs many times, and helped them win a central conference title, which is currently the only one the Bulls have won besides from the Michael Jordan era. Sloan averaged 9.1 rebounds per game during his second season, but his total career rebounding average was 7.4 rebounds per game. He played as a high guard, and his rebounds are actually very high for his position. Currently he is ranked number four on the Bulls all-time scoring list. He proved this by recording two triple doubles during his career, and scored a record career-high of 43 points in a single game versus the Milwaukee Bucks.

Immediately after his playing career, he retired to a coaching career, and was first hired by the Chicago Bulls as a scout. After only one season as a scout, Sloan was moved up to a coaching position as an assistant coach. After a few years of assistant coaching, he was finally moved up to head coach for the Bulls. He only served for three seasons before he was fired because of a poor start in the third season.

Soon after being fired from the Bulls, he was hired as a scout for the Utah Jazz for again only one season. Soon after, he became an assistant coach for the Jazz in 1988, which marked the beginning of his excellent Jazz career. Jerry Sloan has had a highly successful career, and has coached many amazing players such as Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Jeff Eaton.
Sloan is the current head coach of the Utah Jazz, and has led them to six divisional championships, twice facing the Michael Jordan-led Bulls. Soon he was joined by Pat Riley and Phil Jackson as assistant coaching. Not only has Sloan coached old stars, but he has also coached players such as Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, and Deron Williams.

Currently the Utah Jazz is doing quite well, and is one of the highest scoring offenses in the NBA.

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