Jim Boatwright

Jim Boatwright
	Boatwright, in 1981.
Personal information
Born	December 10, 1951; Twin Falls, Idaho
Died	February 11, 2013 (aged 61); Ketchum, Idaho
Nationality	American / Israeli
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	Minico (Rupert, Idaho)
College	Utah State (1971–1974)
NBA draft	1974: undrafted
Playing career	1974–1982
Position	Small forward / power forward
Number	15
Coaching career	1983–2012
Career history
As player:
1974–1982	Maccabi Tel Aviv
As coach:
1989–1992	Utah State (assistant)
2003–2012	Wood River HS (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
	As player FIBA Intercontinental Cup champion (1980); 2× EuroLeague champion (1977, 1981); EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer (1977); 6× Israeli League champion (1977–1982); 5× Israeli Cup winner (1977–1982);

James Earl Boatwright (December 10, 1951 – February 11, 2013)^[1] was an American-Israeli professional basketball player, basketball coach, and schoolteacher. He won two EuroLeague championships with Maccabi Tel Aviv, in 1977 and 1981, while reaching the EuroLeague Final another time in 1980. In the 1977 final, he led all scorers with 26 points.

Amateur career

Boatwright graduated from Minico High School in Rupert, Idaho, in 1970, where he lettered in basketball, track and golf. He led the Spartans to back-to-back state championship games in 1969 and 1970. As a junior, he averaged 37 points per game during the state tournament. He still holds the record for most free throws taken and made. Boatwright is the second-leading Minico scorer, all time.^[1]

Having earned a slew of All-State and All-American honors, Boatwright received a scholarship to play at Utah State University. He was the leading scorer in both his junior and senior seasons at Logan, and was named Utah State's top athlete in 1974, the same year in which he graduated with a degree in political science.^[1]^[2]

Professional career

Boatwright played for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Super League, from 1974 to 1982. He began playing only in EuroLeague, until 1976, when he also started playing in the Israeli League. Maccabi won the EuroLeague championship in 1977, and Boatwright was the team's leading scorer. He converted to Judaism from Christianity in 1975, and became an Israeli citizen.^[3]

National team career

Boatwright was selected as a member of the Israeli Olympic basketball team for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. While playing for Maccabi, Boatwright had acquired Israeli citizenship. He was consequently able to participate in the EuroBasket 1981, as a member of the senior Israeli national team. At EuroBasket 1981, he averaged 9.6 points a game, and helped Israel finish in sixth place.^[1]

Post playing career

In 1983, Boatwright began teaching and coaching at Star Valley, Wyoming. He guided his team to the state championship, and was named Wyoming's "Coach of the Year." He later taught at elementary and secondary schools in Wyoming, Arizona, and California. In addition, Boatwright, a father of four, and married to Jennifer Magrane Boatwright, ran Snowline Basketball Camp across the Western US for 24 years.

In 2003, Boatwright became an assistant boys' basketball coach and history teacher at Wood River High School of Hailey, Idaho. He resigned in December 2012, to undergo chemotherapy.^[4]

Personal Life

Jim Boatwright was born to William Boatwright who operated a service station in Twin Falls, where Jim was born in 1951.^[5] Boatwright died on February 11, 2013, of liver cancer in Ketchum, Idaho.^[2]^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "James Earl Boatwright". Idaho Mountain Express and Guide. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "USU basketball standout Boatwright dies at age 61". The Standard Examiner. February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
^ Michael Bar-Eli and Yair Galily (January 2005). "From Tal Brody to European Champions: Early Americanization and the 'Golden Age' of Israeli Basketball, 1965-1979", Journal of Sport History, 32(3): 401-422.
^ Cordes, Jeff (February 8, 2013). "Big crowd thanks Boatwright for job well done". Idaho Mountain Express. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
^ Mentzer, Jon (2024-07-16). "Jim Boatwright and the Maccabi basketball miracle". Idaho Mountain Express Newspaper. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
^ "James Boatwright - Monday, February 11th, 2013". Archived from the original on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-03-02.

External links

[Mountain_Express-1] "James Earl Boatwright". Idaho Mountain Express and Guide. Retrieved July 21, 2019.

[standard-2] "USU basketball standout Boatwright dies at age 61". The Standard Examiner. February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.

[3] Michael Bar-Eli and Yair Galily (January 2005). "From Tal Brody to European Champions: Early Americanization and the 'Golden Age' of Israeli Basketball, 1965-1979", Journal of Sport History, 32(3): 401-422.

[4] Cordes, Jeff (February 8, 2013). "Big crowd thanks Boatwright for job well done". Idaho Mountain Express. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2013.

[5] Mentzer, Jon (2024-07-16). "Jim Boatwright and the Maccabi basketball miracle". Idaho Mountain Express Newspaper. Retrieved 2024-07-17.

[6] "James Boatwright - Monday, February 11th, 2013". Archived from the original on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-03-02.

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