John Shumate

John Henry Shumate, an American professional basketball player and coach, was born April 6, 1952, in Greenville, South Carolina, and died February 3, 2025. The son of minister Eugene Shumate and his wife Margaret, he was raised with four sisters in a religious household in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and credited his parents as his inspiration in basketball and in life. He attended the all-male Thomas Jefferson High School, where he scored over 1,000 points despite not taking up the game until his sophomore year, when, having grown to 6 ft 5 in, he was convinced to try out by coach Ron Kelly and reached the varsity team by his second season.

Shumate played in the National Basketball Association from 1975 to 1981, appearing for the Phoenix Suns, Buffalo Braves, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Seattle SuperSonics. His playing career was cut short by recurring issues with blood clots. He later moved into coaching, serving as head coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes and the SMU Mustangs, and as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors of the NBA and the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.