Former Cerritos
College men's
basketball coach
Jim Killingsworth,
who coached the
Falcons from
1964-71, died on
Sunday (June 10) in
Owasso, Oklahoma
from complication of
a stroke.
Killingsworth, who
would have turned 84
on June 19, led
Cerritos to their
first-ever state
championship in
1967-68, while he
also led his teams
to three conference
championships. His
career record at
Cerritos was 157-49
(.762) and is still
the third-winningest
coach in Falcon
history.
Killingworth, who
suffered a stroke
nearly a month ago
while at home, died
at St. John’s
Hospital. A service
will be held at
10:30 am on Friday
morning (June 15) at
First United
Methodist Church in
Glen Rose, Texas.
Killingsworth
left Cerritos
College to coach at
Idaho State
University and
coached the Bengals
from 1971-77,
posting a 109-54
record. In his six
seasons, he led the
Bengals to three
regular season
titles, and two NCAA
Tournament trips, in
1974 and 1977. Idaho
State never finished
lower than second
place in any of
"Killer's"
six seasons. In the
height of his career
at Idaho State in
1977, he led the
Bengals to perhaps
their greatest pure
upset in the history
of the NCAA
Tournament, as they
ended UCLA's epic
run of 11-straight
Final Four
appearances, winning
76-75.
After his
six-year run at
Idaho State,
Killingsworth took
the head coaching
job at Oklahoma
State in 1977 and
was 22-31 in two
seasons before
moving on to Texas
Christian
University. He
eventually turned
their program around
and earned an NCAA
Tournament
appearance. He
coached the Horned
Frogs for eight
seasons and had a
130-96 record until
his retirement after
the 1987 season.
Texas Christian
honored
Killingsworth with
the Coach Jim
Killingsworth
Practice Gym and a
mural of him in the
lobby of the
Schollmaier
Basketball Complex.
A native of
Checotah, Oklahoma.,
Killingsworth served
in the Army Air
Force during World
War II. He graduated
from Northeastern
Oklahoma University
in 1948 and began
his coaching career
at Stidham (OK) High
School that year.
During a
12-year high school
coaching career, he
also served at
Schulter, Lindsey
and Pawhuska high
schools in Oklahoma
and compiled a
305-50 record. He
also found time to
earn a master's
degree from the
University of
Oklahoma in 1954.
Killingsworth's
collegiate coaching
career began in 1961
as the freshman
coach at the
University of Tulsa,
a post he held for
three seasons.
