Bill Cartwright

James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and a former head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 7'1" (2.16 m) center, he played 16 seasons for the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, helping the Bulls capture consecutive championships in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons. He attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California, and played college basketball at the University of San Francisco. Early life James William Cartwright was born to James and Marie Cartwright on July 30, 1957 in Lodi, California. In high school, Cartwright played basketball for the Elk Grove Thundering Herd under coach Dan Risley. With Cartwright on the squad, the team went undefeated in the 1973-1974 season and was named the best high school basketball team in California in both 1974 and 1975. In 1975, Elk Grove won the NorCal Tournament of Champions. In 1974 and 1975, Cartwright was named California High School State Basketball Player of the Year. In 1975, he was named California High School Sports Athlete of the Year. As a prep star, Cartwright was just as highly regarded as fellow preps Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby.