Detroit Catholic Central High School

BIOGRAPHY

STANLEY HEATH III '83

Stanley (Stan) Heath III was known at Catholic Central (CC) as a hardworking, play making point guard. He led the Shamrocks to the 1983 Catholic High School League (CHSL) Championship while earning "All State" honors. As a student-athlete at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) Stan was a three-year letter winner on the basketball team and earned a bachelor's degree in social science. He then went on o earn a master's degree in sports administration from Wayne State University (WSU) in 1993. 

Stan has been an assistant basketball coach at Hillsdale College, Albion College, Bowling Green State University (BGSU), Boston College (BC), Wayne State University (WSU), and Michigan State University (MSU). In three seasons at WSU, including time as associate head coach, they set a school record for victories (25-5), won two (2) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) titles and made te National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Final Four. In the five (5) years on Tom Izzo's staff, the MSU Spartans advanced to the Final Four three (3) straight years and won the 2000 NCAA National Championship.

Heath got his first collegiate head coaching job at Kent State University (KSU) in 2002. The Golden Flashes finished with a 30-6 record, won the Mid-America Conference (MAC) regular season and tournament titles, came within a victory of reaching the NCAA Final Four, set many MAC records, and beat three (3) ranked teams in the NCAA tournament: Oklahoma State University, University of Alabama, and the University of Pittsburgh. Heath's 30 wins ties him for third-most wins by a first year head coach in NCAA Division I history.

He moved to Arkansas for five (5) seasons before signing with the University of South Florida (USF) as Head Coach. In his third season, USF won 20 games and earned a spot in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Heath's most successful season came in his fifth year; the Bulls had 22 victories, tied for 4th in the Big East, earned a 12th seed in the NCAA Tournament, defeating California and Temple.

Stan's head coaching career record at major schools is: 13 Years, 209-207, .502 WL%, KSU (30-6), Arkansas (82-71) and USF (97-130). His teams were Conference Champions twice, made four (4) NCAA and one (1) NIT appearances, had give (5) 20-win seasons, had 17 wins against nationally raked top-25 teams, and had four (4) nationally ranked recruiting classes. Coach Heath was listed in Sports Illustrated as one of the "five college coaches waiting in the wings" (2001), MAC Coach of the Year (2002), BIG EAST Coach of the Year (2012), CBSSportslines.com and CollegeInsider.com "National Rookie Coach of the Year" (2002), and ESPN analyst (2015).

In August 2017, Stan Heath was named Head Coach of the Lakeland (Orlando) Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA) G League and in 2021 led the Lakeland Magic to the NBA/G League Championship. In April 2021 he was named the Head Basketball Coach of his alma mater, EMI, which is the position he holds at the time of this writing.

Throughout his coaching career, Stan has prepared young people for life after basketball, emphasizing faith in yourself, your teammates and God, and stressing the importance of education and work ethic for a successful life. During Stan's career, he is thankful for his family, wife Ramona, sons Jordan and Josh and their critical role in his success. He could not have done it without their sacrifices and support. 

Stan heath is an outstanding ambassador of the CC Spirit and a living example of "Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge". 

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME