Jeff Judkins

Jeff "Juddy" Judkins is the head coach of the Brigham Young University women’s basketball team. He was assistant coach from 2000 to 2001. He is the winningest coach in BYU basketball history, men or women. He reached the 400-win milestone on December 30, 2019, at Pepperdine with a 65-47 win. He was named conference coach of the year five times: 2020-21 West Coast Conference (WCC), 2015-16 WCC, 2010-11 Mountain West Conference (MWC), 2006-07 MWC, 2005-06 MWC.

At BYU, Judkins was also the director of basketball operations and served as a men’s assistant coach at the University of Utah.

Judkins is also a former professional basketball player. He was the 8th pick in the 2nd round of the 1978 NBA draft, selected by the Boston Celtics. He also played with the Utah Jazz, the Detroit Pistons, and the Portland Trail Blazers. Prior to his professional career, he played with the University of Utah. In high school, he was all-state in football and baseball, as well as basketball. Highland High School retired his jersey no. 34 in February 2006.

He was a member of the 1977 United States World Games team that captured the gold medal.

Judkins is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sportswriter Jeff Call tells his favorite story of Judkins’ time with the Celtics:

It was in the late 1970s, and during a commercial flight — teams didn’t have charters like they do now — Judkins sat in first class with his Celtics teammates, who knew he was a Mormon.

Suddenly, the plane hit turbulence and began bouncing violently in the sky. The pilot ordered passengers to fasten their seatbelts and get into a tuck position.

“We may have to make a crash landing,” the pilot warned.

At a time like that, people tend to take stock of their lives. And that’s what was going through Judkins’ mind as he sat folded over in his chair.

“I started thinking about a lot of things, like, will I make it back home?” he recalls. “Will I see my wife and family again?”

Judkins closed his eyes and said a little prayer.

When he opened his eyes, Judkins noticed numerous pairs of large shoes surrounding his seat. He looked up and saw the whole Boston Celtics team huddled next to him, including Larry Bird, Pete Maravich, Rick Robey, Dave Cowens, Tiny Archibald, Cedric Maxwell, M.L. Carr and Chris Ford.

“What are you guys doing?” Judkins asked.

“Judkins,” came the reply, “we know you’re not going to die, so we want to be as close to you as possible.”

The plane landed safety and the experience reminded Judkins about the impact of living the gospel has on others.

“I think it was a great example for me to realize that the way I lived the gospel,” he says. “They might have razzed me and might have bothered me, but when it came down to it, they respected me for what I believed.”[1]

Judkins earned his bachelor’s degree in Physical and Health Education in 1978 from the University of Utah. He and his wife, Mary Kay, have five children.