A Harlan County legend was back in town Friday for a visit to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia in Harlan.
Bernie Bickerstaff, a former NBA coach and executive, attended East Benham High School in the early 1960s just before integration. He played basketball at the University of San Diego and was team captain and most valuable player as a senior in 1966. He then became a graduate assistant at his alma mater and later the head coach before moving on to the NBA where he was an assistant with the Washington Bullets in their championship season of 1978.
He became the first African American from Kentucky to be named a head coach in the NBA in 1985 with the Seattle SuperSonics. He was also a head coach with the Denver Nuggets and Washington Bullets/Wizards and later the general manager of the Charlotte Bobcats.
“There is something especially meaningful about having someone who came from right here in Harlan County return and pour back into the people and place that helped shape him. His presence was a reminder that greatness can come from small Appalachian towns, and that our young people deserve to see what is possible,” said club CEO Kateena Haynes, who said Bickerstaff attended a end-of-year staff celebration at the club. “We are grateful for his friendship, his support and the example he continues to set. Kids need champions, and today our staff got to spend time with one of Harlan County’s very own. “
Bickerstaff’s son, J. B. Bickerstaff, is the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. His wife Eugenia is retired. He has two other sons, Bernard Jr. and Tim, and two daughters, Cydni and Robin.
