Bill Hanzlik

Who is Bill Hanzlik?

William Henry "Bill" Hanzlik is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'7" guard, Hanzlik played college basketball at the University of Notre Dame. He was selected for the 1980 US Mens Olympic Team which never was afforded the chance to compete due to the US's boycott of the Moscow Games. He was selected with the 20th pick of the 1980 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. A defense specialist, at the time of his selection Hanzlik had the lowest college scoring average for any player selected in the first round of the draft. Hanzlik played in the NBA for ten years - two with the Sonics and eight with the Denver Nuggets. He was a 1986 All-Defense second team selection. He worked as an assistant with the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks in the 1990s.

In 1997, Hanzlik was tabbed to replace Dick Motta as head coach of the Denver Nuggets. He coached the severely injury depleted Nuggets for one year, posting an 11-71 record. He was fired at the end of the season and replaced with Mike D'Antoni. To date, Hanzlik owns the worst full-season record for a rookie coach in NBA history.