Lewis D’Antoni, the father of Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and a West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame high school coach, died on Saturday at 103 years old.
Lewis D’Antoni won a state boys basketball championship at Mullens High school and inspired his sons, Mike and Dan D’Antoni, to go into coaching. Dan D’Antoni, who had been an assistant on his brother’s staffs in the NBA, is the head coach at Marshall, their alma mater.
Lewis D‘Antoni won 450 games in a 35-year coaching career, teaching the up-tempo, high-scoring style his sons have used since and that Mike D’Antoni used to change NBA offenses.