(AP)

Dr. Jack Ramsay, a Hall of Fame coach with ties to the 76ers and Saint Joseph’s University, and whose basketball beginnings took place in Delaware County, died Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer. Ramsay was 89.

Ramsay, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer who spent the bulk of his coaching career with NBA teams, first worked the sidelines as the coach of now-shuttered St. James High in Chester. The Delaware County Sports Hall of Famer, Ramsay graduated from Upper Darby High School and later graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University and attained master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

He moved into the college coaching ranks in 1955, when he was hired by his alma mater, Saint Joseph’s. Ramsay coached the Hawks until 1966, guiding them to seven Big 5 championships and 10 postseason appearances – including the first of each in program history.

From there, Ramsay joined the 76ers’ front office. And after winning a championship with 1966-67 team, he moved to the sidelines. He coached the Sixers from 1968-72, then the Buffalo Braves from 1972-76, before moving on to the Portland Trail Blazers. Ramsay coached the Blazers through 1986, with the franchise’s only championship, in 1977, highlighting his nine-season tenure with the team. Ramsay finishing his NBA coaching career with the Indiana Pacers, from 1986-88.

Ramsay had an 864-783 record (.525 winning percentage) during a 21-year NBA coaching career, for which he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

Here are a few statements about Ramsay from around the NBA…

Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil: “Dr. Jack Ramsay was a legendary figure in Philadelphia and a man whose passion and contributions to this city and the game of basketball will long be remembered. He left an indelible mark on the basketball community – from the Big 5 to our organization and throughout his storied career within the NBA – and was a friend and mentor to those who knew him, both on- and off-the-court. On behalf of the Sixers organization, we truly mourn the loss and send our deepest condolences to the entire Ramsay family.” 

Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon: “When my brother, Melvin, and I bought the Pacers he was one of our first coaches and took us to our first NBA Playoff series. Jack was a good, humble man who gave us our first taste of success in the NBA. This is a loss for the sport of basketball, not just the Pacers. We send our condolences to his family, in particular his daughter, Sharon, who became part of our family when her husband, Jim, coached the Pacers.”

Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird: “Jack was a great man and I don’t use that term lightly. His contributions to the game, as a coach, advisor, broadcaster will endure forever. I remember talking to Jack, either in Florida, or when he came to our training camp when Jim O’Brien was the coach. I always learned something from him. This is a sad day for all of us in basketball and a sad day for anyone who knew Jack.”

Indiana Pacers basketball operations consultant Donnie Walsh:  “He was the first coach I hired with the Pacers. He was a wonderful choice, got us in the playoffs for the second time in our NBA history and got us our first NBA Playoff victory. During his time, we drafted Rik Smits and Reggie Miller and he was a tremendous teacher, a master, for young players like those two, helping them get off to a great start in their careers. I knew he was a great coach, but once I got to know him, he was a better man. I will miss him a lot, as will the rest of the NBA.”

UPDATED: 4/28, 2:10 p.m.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver: "Today, the NBA family mourns the loss of one of the true legends of our game, Dr. Jack Ramsay. From his coaching tenure to his broadcast work, Dr. Jack left an indelible mark on every facet of our game and on every person he came in contact with, including me. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and many friends.”

(AP)

Indiana’s Roy Hibbert doesn’t think the 76ers’ rebuild will begin until Nerlens Noel takes the floor.

The rookie center, Noel has not played this season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. While Sixers coach Brett Brown often extols the positives of Noel’s season, which has included traveling with his teammates and being a visible member of the team for practices and shootarounds, Hibbert said Noel will have be present in the games for the Sixers’ rebuild to take hold.

“Something’s off,” Hibbert said last week, when the Pacers were in town to face the Sixers. “They have the pieces once Nerlens is back. Michael Carter-Williams is a terrific player. Thaddeus Young has been terrific for years. They’ll be set up for the future once they get their core guys on the court and build chemistry, and go through it.”

Hibbert referenced a game this season as an example of such chemistry. He and the Pacers trailed New Orleans by as many as 16 points in the second half, and were down by five with less than two minutes to play in an Oct. 31 game. Indiana rallied to beat the Pelicans, 95-90.

“With this team, in our second game of the season, down (16) at New Orleans on the road, we fought back,” Hibbert said. “Those are the types of things (the Sixers) are going to have to experience. Once they get those core guys together, they might lose that game but it’s an experience they need to get. They have to try to rally amongst each other and fight through that and build a bond through that. They don’t have that right now, only because they don’t have everybody out there right now.”

The Sixers (15-51) visit the Pacers tonight, looking to snap a franchise-record-tying 20-game losing streak.

(AP)

Friday, the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers visit Wells Fargo Center. Andrew Bynum, however, won’t be among those taking the floor.

Bynum will not play against the Sixers, Indiana coach Frank Vogel told reporters Thursday at the Pacers’ practice in Indianapolis. The 7-footer will be available for the Pacers Saturday at Detroit, Vogel said.

The center, who missed all of last season for the Sixers, was expected to play in Philly given that he’s had two days of recovery. He made his debut for Indiana Tuesday with eight points and 10 rebounds in 16 minutes of the Pacers’ win over Boston. It was his first game action since Dec. 26, when Bynum was with Cleveland.

Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen, who were traded from the Sixers to Indiana in a deadline deal, will be available for the game.

Turner is averaging 9.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in nearly 23 minutes per game. Allen has played in only three of nine games since the trade, and is averaging 4.3 minutes per appearance.

Danny Granger’s status with the 76ers remains unclear, though it sounds like both sides are working toward a buyout arrangement.

For the time being, Granger is not with the team. He was not at Wells Fargo Center for Monday’s game against Milwaukee, Sixers coach Brett Brown said, and there was no locker room stall arranged for him.

“He's in the city of Philadelphia. Go find him,” Brown said. “He's got a fake wig and sunglasses on.”

Granger finished his physical Sunday, after which he met with Brown. He also sat down with Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie sometime over the weekend, Brown said.

Acquired from Indiana at the Feb. 20 trade deadline, Granger does not seem to have any interest in playing for the Sixers. If he seeks a buyout of the remainder of his contract, it’d be for roughly $4 million. Brown insists that “there’s still more going on with the discussions,” however.

“He most definitely wants to play basketball this year,” Brown said of Granger. “The obvious stuff is assessing his goals at this stage of his career. He’s a player and he wants to play. Just trying to sort out what’s going to be best for both parties has yet to be determined.”

But Granger and the Sixers are at a critical juncture: If the ninth-year forward is looking to be on a team’s playoff roster, he has to be signed by March 1. That would make Thursday or Friday of this week the cutoff for both he and the Sixers to reach an agreement on Granger parting ways.

More on this in Tuesday’s Daily Times.

(Associated Press)

Danny Granger has completed the last installment of his physical, and 76ers coach Brett Brown said he intended to sit down with the 30-year-old forward Sunday afternoon.

Granger did not see or participate in the Sixers’ two-hour practice at PCOM. Brown said Granger was not even in the building.

“He was going through the final stages of physicals and I’m going to be meeting with him within the hour,” Brown said.

Granger, who was acquired from Indiana Thursday at the trade deadline, reportedly does not want to play for the Sixers and is said to be seeking a buyout of the remainder of his contract. The small forward is making $14 million this season.

Only Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie has spoken with Granger, Brown said, though the coach expected that to change in the 60 minutes following his team’s practice.

“Sam has met with him,” Brown said. “(Granger) has done his physicals and he’ll come back and I’ll sit down with him for the first time now that the physicals have been had and talk with him.”

The Sixers host Milwaukee Monday.