Roland LaVetter, who coached Pueblo High School to back-to-back basketball championships in 1977 and 1978, died Saturday in Tucson. He was 82 years old.
LaVetter’s team in 1978 went 28-0 and is often considered the best men’s high school basketball team in Tucson history. The 1978 team, led by future NBA All-Star guard Lafayette “Fat” Lever, was ranked No. 4 in the United States.
A native of Tucson, LaVetter was educated at TUSD schools including Sam Hughes Elementary, Mansfeld Junior High and Tucson High. He completed the circle at the University of Arizona, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
“Without a doubt, everything I learned – and not just in basketball, but in life – came from Pueblo and what Coach taught me,” Lever said in 1988. “The things he started there are continuing.”
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LaVetter was a social studies teacher for 28 years at Pueblo, Rincon, and Catalina high schools. He has also served as a senior class and student council counselor and athletic administrator.
After winning 19 games and capturing another region title in 1980, LaVetter elected to transfer to TUSD and teach/coach at Rincon High School, which was less than a mile from his home. Rincon was at the start of a sports rebuild.
“The idea of taking over never occurred to me,” LaVetter said that spring. “It’s about ego. I’ve never coached for an ego. I coach because I like the idea.”
After quitting his job at Rincon, LaVetter was asked to return to Pueblo and coach the women’s basketball team. The Warriors had won two games the previous year. That didn’t stop him. His first team Pueblo women’s basketball, 1991-92, went 0-20.
“I probably enjoyed this year as much as most,” he told The Star in 2019. “You only have the chance to get a Fat Lever once in your life, if at all. .It’s always up to you to make the most of what you have.”
Pueblo named its basketball facility the Roland LaVetter Gymnasium in 2019. The Warriors’ other gymnasium is appropriately named after Lever.
LaVetter was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
Photos: Pueblo High wins second straight state championship in 1978
Pueblo wins state championship
Pueblo wins state championship
Pueblo wins state championship
Pueblo wins state championship
Pueblo wins state championship
Pueblo wins state championship
Pueblo wins state championship
Pueblo wins state championship
Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 520-573-4362 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @ghansen711