A former Bradley University men’s basketball coach has died.
The Omaha World-Herald reports Tony Barone died Tuesday after a battle with lung cancer. He was 72.
Barone was assistant coach at Bradley under Dick Versace from 1978 to 1985 after two seasons as an assistant coach at Duke. Versace and Barone led Bradley to an NCAA First Round appearance in 1980 and an NIT championship in 1982.
Barone later went on to become head coach at Creighton and Texas A & M and for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
At Creighton, Barone led the Bluejays to two NCAA tournaments and two Missouri Valley Conference regular season championships. He was coach of the year in the MVC for 1988-89.
Barone was inducted into the Creighton University Hall of Fame in 2015.