Bob Nash (basketball)

Robert Lee Nash (born August 24, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and was the ninth overall pick in the 1972 NBA draft. Nash played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Detroit Pistons and Kansas City Kings. He also played in the American Basketball Association with the San Diego Conquistadors and the Continental Basketball Association with the Hawaii Volcanos for one season each.

After his playing career, Nash served as an assistant coach for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors for twenty years. He was appointed as head coach in 2007 and served for three seasons. Nash relocated to Japan in 2010 and served as the head coach of the Saitama Broncos, Toyama Grouses and Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka.

Career
A 1968 graduate of Hartford Public High School, Nash played college basketball for the UH-Manoa in the early 1970s and was a member of the school's most successful men's basketball team up to the time.

Nash played professionally during the 1970s as a member of the Detroit Pistons, San Diego Conquistadors and Kansas City Kings. He played for the Hawaii Volcanos of the Continental Basketball Association during the 1979–80 season. Nash then became an assistant coach at Hawaii in 1987 and held that position until he was promoted to head coach in 2007, taking over for retired Riley Wallace in April 2007 and was fired after the 2009–10 season. He had a 34–56 record as head coach over his three seasons at the helm.

Nash was inducted into the Hartford Public High School Hall of Fame in 2004.

He became the head coach of the Saitama Broncos in the bj league in Japan in 2010, where his son Bobby also played. Nash left the team after the March 11 Japanese earthquake as the team shut down for the rest of the season. Nash served as the head coach for the Toyama Grouses in the bj league from 2012–2017.