Former Coach John O. Stephens Passes Away
3/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2004
Former Lumberjack basketball coach John O. Stephens, 89, passed away Sunday in Nacogdoches. Graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, 2004, at Sunset Memorial Park, Nacogdoches, Texas, with the Reverend Bruce Norman officiating.
A long time coach and educator, Stephens came to Stephen F. Austin University in 1952 where he served as head basketball coach from 1952 until 1959. He compiled a record of 126-50 (.716), and coached a Lone Star Conference winning team to the NAIA Tournament. Stephens never had a losing season while coaching at SFA. From 1959 until 1960 Stephens served as athletic director at SFA.
In 1975 Stephens was inducted into the Austin College Athletic Hall of Honor. He was inducted into the Stephen F. Austin State Athletic Hall of Honor in 1977 and the East Texas Baptist College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1999, the training facility at East Texas Baptist College was named in his honor.
After retiring from coaching, Stephens continued to teach political science at Stephen F. Austin University until his retirement in 1985. He was the author of two widely read books on basketball and was noted as an authority on basketball defenses.
