Mark Warkentien

 A native of Huntington, Indiana, Mark Warkentien and his family moved to Riverside, Calif. in the mid-sixties where he graduated from Ramona High School. He went on to graduate with a degree in Physical Education, Teaching and Coaching from Cal State Fullerton in 1976. 
 
Warkentien made a significant impact throughout his career, both as a coach and executive. His first coaching job was as an assistant to Bill Muligan at UC-Irvine. From there, he served as an assistant to Jerry Tarkanian with the Runnin’ Rebels from 1981-87, including the team that reached Final Four in 1987. From 1987-91, he left the bench to serve as assistant athletic director, which led to winning the program’s first and only National Championship in 1990.  
 
During his tenure in the NBA (including stops in Seattle, Portland and Cleveland), Warkentien worked his way up from a scout and assistant general manager to eventually becoming the vice president of basketball operations of the Denver Nuggets, serving in that role from 2006-10. The Nuggets reached the playoffs in each of the four seasons with him at the helm, advancing to the Western Conference Finals in 2009. Following that season in Denver, he was named the NBA Executive of the Year. 
 
Warkentien later served as the director of player personnel for the New York Knicks through the 2018 season and also served in consultant/special advisor roles for the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder.  
 
Affectionately referred to by other basketball executives as “the scout,” Warkentien was known as one of the best basketball evaluators in the world. 
 
Throughout his career, he built strong relationships and always wanted to help others around him get better. One of his favorite quotes was from Theodore Roosevelt who said: “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” He was always committed to self improvement, service and education to draw people together. Indicative of this philosophy, he returned to school at the age of 60 to complete his master’s degree in Sports Leadership through the Sports Management World Wide program at Concordia University of Chicago.
 
Survived by his wife, Maureen, and their daughters, Kreigh and Aubrie, he passed away on December 23, 2022, but he will always be remembered as someone who excelled on and off the court, and in life as well.