Howie Shannon

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Howie Shannon

| image = Howie_Shannon_UNT.jpg

| caption = Shannon from the 1943 “Yukka”

| number = 9, 8

| position = Guard / small forward

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 2

| weight_lb = 175

| league =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|06|10}}

| birth_place = Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1995|08|16|1923|06|10}}

| death_place = Plano, Texas, U.S.

| high_school = Munday (Munday, Texas)

| college =

North Texas (1942–1943)
Kansas State (1947–1948)

| draft_year = 1949

| draft_league = BAA

| draft_round = 1

| draft_pick = 1

| draft_team = Providence Steamrollers

| career_start = 1948

| career_end = 1950

| years1 = {{nbay|1948|baa=y|full=y}}

| team1 = Providence Steamrollers

| years2 = {{nbay|1949|full=y}}

| team2 = Boston Celtics

| coach_start = 1950

| coach_end = 1971

| cyears1 = 1950–1954

| cteam1 = Topeka HS

| cyears2 = 1954–1964

| cteam2 = Kansas State (assistant)

| cyears3 = 1964–1971

| cteam3 = Virginia Tech

| highlights =

Second-team All-American – Helms (1948)

| stat1label = Points

| stat1value = 1,323 (10.8 ppg)

| stat2label = Assists

| stat2value = 299 (2.5 apg)

| stat3label = Games played

| stat3value = 122

| bbr = shannho01

}}

Howard Shannon (June 10, 1923 – August 16, 1995) was an American basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the early years of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He later coached at the high school and college levels.

Shannon played college basketball for the North Texas Green and Kansas State Wildcats.[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/shannho01.html Howie Shannon NBA & ABA statistics] Accessed: 4/25/2012 After the 1947–48 season with Kansas State, he was ruled ineligible to play by the Big Seven after the conference re-interpreted a rule to count freshman and junior college play against a player's four-year limit of college play. Consequently, Shannon signed a one-year contract to play professionally with the Providence Steamrollers of the BAA.{{cite news|title=Kansas State Court Star May Turn Pro|date=June 22, 1948|newspaper=The Tampa Tribune|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17494806/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{free access}}{{cite news|title=Shannon Leaves K-State For Pro Basketball|date=June 30, 1948|newspaper=The Iola Register|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17494922/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{free access}} He averaged 13.4 points per game in 1948–49 and was named the league's Rookie of the Year, a designation not currently recognized by the NBA for that season. Although he had already signed and played with Providence, the team was still required to select him in the 1949 BAA draft to secure his rights. He was selected with the first overall pick of the draft.{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Robert D.|title=The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts|year=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m99DCaqGoQ8C&q=The%20Basketball%20Draft%20Fact%20Book&pg=PA11|isbn=9780810890695}} However, the Steamrollers would fold their organization before the start of the first season with the NBA name. As a result, his rights were picked up by the Boston Celtics for the 1949-50 NBA season.

Following his playing career, Shannon became head coach at Topeka High School in Kansas, where he coached from 1950 to 1954 before becoming an assistant to Tex Winter at Kansas State.{{cite news |title= Shannon Chosen As Aide to Winter at Manhattan |newspaper= Lawrence Journal-World |date= March 23, 1954| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lYtWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4661,4979319&dq=howie-shannon+coach+kansas&hl=en |access-date=December 18, 2012}} In 1964, Shannon was named head coach of Virginia Tech.{{cite news |title= Shannon Named Tech Cage Coach |newspaper= Free Lance Star |date= April 13, 1964 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4NhNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7266,1103901&dq=howie-shannon+coach+virginia+tech&hl=en |access-date=December 18, 2012}} Shannon coached the Hokies to a 104–67 record and its best NCAA Tournament finish in 1967, reaching the Mideast Regional final before falling to Dayton. In 1971, Shannon resigned to join Virginia Tech's physical education faculty full-time.{{cite news |title= Shannon Resigns |newspaper= Spartanburg Herald-Journal |date= March 31, 1971 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WngsAAAAIBAJ&pg=5708,5526939&dq=howie-shannon+resigns&hl=en |access-date=December 18, 2012}} Shannon was also coach of the 1960 Puerto Rican basketball team in the 1960 Olympics.

Howie Shannon died of lung cancer on August 16, 1995, in Plano, Texas.{{cite news |title= Also ... |newspaper= Lakeland Ledger |date= August 18, 1995 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MfIvAAAAIBAJ&pg=3084,5619954&dq=howie-shannon&hl=en |access-date=December 18, 2012}}