Tony Barone
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Anthony Andrew Barone Sr. (July 20, 1946 – June 25, 2019) was an American basketball coach and scout. A native of Chicago, he was head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Barone was appointed as the team's interim coach by Grizzlies general manager Jerry West after West fired Mike Fratello on December 28, 2006. Prior to landing his first head coaching job after Fratello's dismissal, Barone had served as an assistant coach for five seasons. Barone was also the Grizzlies' director of player personnel.
Barone was an Academic All-American while playing at Duke, where he graduated with a degree in English in 1971. He was previously the head coach at Creighton from 1985 to 1991. During his time at Creighton, Barone compiled a 102–82 record and led Creighton to two NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament appearances. Barone was pursued by major Division I programs and took the head coach position at Texas A&M, where he led the team from 1991 to 1998. During his Texas A&M tenure, Barone compiled a record of 76–120 while having only one winning season. Barone was fired as head coach at Texas A&M following the 1997–98 season. He was a member of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.
Barone died on June 25, 2019, at the age of 72. His son Brian played for his father at Texas A&M, transferring to Marquette after Tony's dismissal; Brian would later follow in Tony's footsteps as a Division I coach, currently at SIU Edwardsville.
Head coaching record
NBA
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis | 2006–07 | 52 | 16 | 36 | .308 | 5th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Career | 52 | 16 | 36 | .308 | — | — | — | — |
College
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creighton Bluejays (Missouri Valley Conference) (1985–1991) | |||||
| 1985–86 | Creighton | 12–16 | 7–9 | T–5th | |
| 1986–87 | Creighton | 9–19 | 4–10 | T–7th | |
| 1987–88 | Creighton | 16–16 | 6–8 | T–4th | |
| 1988–89 | Creighton | 20–11 | 11–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I First Round |
| 1989–90 | Creighton | 21–12 | 9–5 | T–2nd | NIT First Round |
| 1990–91 | Creighton | 24–8 | 12–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Second Round |
| Creighton: | 102–82 (.554) | 49–39 (.557) | |||
| Texas A&M Aggies (Southwest Conference) (1991–1996) | |||||
| 1991–92 | Texas A&M | 6–22 | 2–12 | 8th | |
| 1992–93 | Texas A&M | 10–17 | 5–9 | 6th | |
| 1993–94 | Texas A&M | 19–11 | 10–4 | T–2nd | NIT First Round |
| 1994–95 | Texas A&M | 14–16 | 7–7 | 5th | |
| 1995–96 | Texas A&M | 11–16 | 3–11 | T–7th | |
| Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12 Conference) (1996–1998) | |||||
| 1996–97 | Texas A&M | 9–18 | 3–13 | T–11th | |
| 1997–98 | Texas A&M | 7–20 | 1–15 | 12th | |
| Texas A&M: | 76–120 (.388) | 31–71 (.304) | |||
| Total: | 178–202 (.468) | ||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion |