Lansing legend George Fox passes away at age 88

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - One of Lansing’s iconic former high school coaches died Monday at the age of 88. George Fox played as a state champion basketball player at Fowler, and later coached Lansing Everett to a state title in 1977.

George will forever be known as Magic Johnson’s high school coach and Earvin Johnson went to Twitter today to offer condolences to the Fox family and praise for his former coach.

“My heart sincerely hurts after hearing that my high school basketball coach, George Fox, passed away,” Johnson Tweeted along with a broken heart emoji. “As a young 15-year-old, Coach Fox helped me become a better basketball player and person. He pushed me to be great on and off the court.” His thread included photos from his time under Fox’s guidance.

After the ‘77 season, Fox led Everett to a 24-2 record and the semi-finals the following year before retiring from coaching. He was elected to the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and attended numerous high school games throughout the past years. Current Lansing Sexton High School boys coach Dale Beard played on Everett’s title team with Magic Johnson and shared his reaction to Fox’s passing today for our Fred Heumann.

We will have more on this on News 10 at 6 p.m.

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