Karl was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, where he starred at Penn Hills High School. He played collegiately at the University of North Carolina for three years. Drafted in the fourth round of 1973 NBA draft by the New York Knicks, Karl opted instead to sign with the ABA\'s San Antonio Spurs. He spent three years as the team\'s starting point guard, playing with George Gervin. After the Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, Karl played limited minutes over the next two years, retiring as a player in 1978.\n', '

After his playing career, Karl spent two years with the Spurs coaching staff as an assistant coach. He was then named head coach of the Montana Golden Nuggets of the Continental Basketball Association. As coach of the Golden Nuggets, Karl guided the team to the CBA Finals in 1981 and 1983, winning Coach of the Year both seasons.\n', '

In 1984, Karl returned to the NBA, when he became the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his first season he took them back to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. He was dismissed by the Cavaliers after a disappointing 25–42 start in his second season with the team, though Cleveland would finish just 29–53 on the season. For the remainder of the 1985–86 season and early portion of the offseason, Karl worked as a scout and adviser to the Milwaukee Bucks.\n', '

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