Jerry Steele (March 10, 1939 â July 11, 2021) was an American basketball player and coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina from 1962 to 1970 and High Point University in High Point, North Carolina from 1972 to 2003, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 609âÂÂ486. Steele was also the head coach of the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) for half of one season, 1970âÂÂ71, tallying a mark of 17âÂÂ25.
A native of Elkin, North Carolina, he played basketball at Wake Forest University from 1958 to 1961 and in two of those years he was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic team. After graduating from Wake Forest, Steele earned his master's degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Steele took over as the men's basketball coach at Guilford College in 1962. His first season with the Quakers, he finished with a 5âÂÂ20 record. Steele then led the Quakers to two conference titles, four district championships, and four trips to the NAIA Tournament. During the 1969âÂÂ70 season, the Quakers won 29 straight games, finishing 32âÂÂ4 and fourth in the nation.
In 1970 Steele joined the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) as an assistant coach under Bones McKinney. In November 1970, after the Cougars started the season with a record of 17âÂÂ25, McKinney was dismissed and Steele was promoted to head coach. Steele's record for the remainder of the season matched that of McKinney: 17âÂÂ25. The Cougars finished the 1970âÂÂ71 season with an overall record of 34âÂÂ50, placing sixth in the ABA's Eastern Division and missing the playoffs. After season concluded, Steele moved on to become director of player personnel for the Cougars and was replaced as head coach by Tom Meschery.
In 1972, Steele became the head coach at High Point University. Among his early players was future High Point head coach Tubby Smith. Steele coached at High Point for 32 years, from 1972 to 2003. During his tenure, High Point won eight conference titles, made one appearance in the NAIA Men's Basketball Championships, and earned two trips to the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament. His record at High Point was 457âÂÂ412. He also served as athletic director at High Point for 21 years, from 1978 to 1999. Steele retired after the end of the 2002âÂÂ03 season.
Steele was elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2002 Steele was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. In 2005 Steele was inducted into the Guilford County, North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
He died on July 11, 2021.
|- | style="text-align:left;"|Carolina | style="text-align:left;"|1970-71 |42||17||25||.405|| style="text-align:center;"|6th in Eastern||-||-||-||- | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! style="background:#FDE910;" |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"|Career | ||42||17||25||.405|| ||-||-||-||-