With two of his former teams competing in the NBA Finals, former Bradley University basketball player and head coach Stan Albeck has been the subject of several recent newspaper and television features.  Albeck was an assistant coach for the NBA's Toronto Raptors when he suffered a stroke in the team's locker room prior to a game against the Miami Heat Dec. 23, 2001.

Albeck has since moved to San Antonio, where he regularly attends Spurs games as a special guest of the franchise.  Check out the links below to find out more about Albeck's recovery and the bonds he has strengthened with his family and friends.

http://www.woai.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=251945@video.woai.com

http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/ny-spberger0610,0,2314643.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists

http://www.thestar.com/article/223873

A native of Chenoa, Ill., Albeck played for the Braves from 1950-52 and again during the 1954-55 season, with a two-year stint in the U.S. Army in between.  He was a sophomore on the 1950-51 squad that tied the school record with 32 wins and reached the championship game of the National Campus Tournament, a postseason event contested at Robertson Fieldhouse, and his senior year ended with an improbable run to the 1955 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

A 1955 Bradley graduate, Albeck coached the ABA's Denver Nuggets during the 1970-71 season, then began a seven-year NBA head coaching career in 1979 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Following one season with the Cavs, Albeck coached the Spurs from 1980 through 1983, the New Jersey Nets during the 1983-84 campaign and the Chicago Bulls from 1984 through 1986.  In all, he compiled a 334-311 (.518) regular-season record in those eight ABA and NBA seasons.

Albeck returned to Bradley in 1986 as the 10th head coach in the program's history and he led the Braves to a 75-71 record in five seasons.  The highlight was the 1987-88 campaign when he directed the high-scoring Braves to a 26-5 record and a sweep of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles.  In addition, senior guard Hersey Hawkins led the nation in scoring during the 1987-88 season, shared national player-of-the-year honors, played in the 1988 Olympics for USA Basketball and was the sixth overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft.