Dean Meminger obit

Knicks great Meminger found dead of possible overdose — with championship ring still on finger

 

He was not on the list.

Dean “The Dream” Meminger, a key player on the last New York Knicks team to win a title, was found dead in Harlem of a possible drug overdose today — with his gold championship ring still on his finger, sources said.

A fully-clothed Meminger, 65, was discovered on his bed in the Casablanca Hotel on West 145th Street near Broadway after hotel staff went to talk to him after he didn’t check out as expected, sources said.

“There was white stuff oozing out of his nose,” one source said about the troubled ex-Knick. “Looked like he had a seizure after he was using cocaine, but the medical examiner will have the final say.”

Meminger was a South Carolina native who grew up in New York, where he starred at Rice High School before earning All-America honors under coach and Queens native Al McGuire at Marquette.

The defensive-minded point guard was a Knicks first-round draft pick in 1971 and played a key role in their march to their last championship in 1973, when he played along the legendary Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.

But he fell on hard times in recent years, nearly burning himself to death in 2009 in a fire in the Bronx rooming house where he was living while smoking crack.

He spent four seasons with the Knicks and two with the Atlanta Hawks, and then bounced around several hoops jobs, including stints as head coach at Manhattanville College and the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association, where he was replaced by former teammate Phil Jackson.

“Everyone at the New York Knicks organization is saddened to hear the news of Dean Meminger’s passing,” the Knicks wrote in a statement. “From the day he was drafted by this franchise in 1971, Dean was a friend and close family member of this team. On April 5, 2013, the 1973 World Championship team was honored at Madison Square Garden on it’s 40th anniversary — there was no one prouder than Dean to be back on the court with his teammates. We send our heartfelt condolences to the entire Meminger family.”

Meminger was head coach of the New York Stars in the Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL), which played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. Meminger, with rookie trainer Rick Capistran at his side, guided the Stars to the league championship during the 1979–80 season and was named the league's coach of the year. The team's great success, however, was not enough to save the Stars, which lost so much money the team folded without being able to repeat as champions. Meminger was coaxed to head west, leaving Capistran behind, when he signed up to coach the San Francisco Pioneers in what would be the league's final season.

Among the players Meminger coached to a championship were twins Faye and Kaye Young, fresh out of North Carolina State University. Kaye was married to former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher. Kaye Cowher died of skin cancer at age 54 on July 23, 2010.

In 1982 Meminger was hired to coach the Albany Patroons in the Continental Basketball Association. He was dismissed for his combative style with his players and replaced by his former Knicks teammate and friend Phil Jackson. Meminger convinced Jackson to let him try out for the team but he was unable to resurrect his career on the court.

Meminger coached the USBL's Long Island Knights in 1987, and in later years, spent some time coaching at Manhattanville College in New York.