Nolan Richardson facts for kids
Richardson in 2009
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1941 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1961–1964 | Texas Western |
| Position(s) | Forward |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1968–1977 | Bowie HS (TX) |
| 1977–1980 | Western Texas JC |
| 1980–1985 | Tulsa |
| 1985–2002 | Arkansas |
| 2009–2011 | Tulsa Shock |
| International | |
| 2005–2007 | Panama |
| 2007 | Mexico |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 508–206 (college) |
| Tournaments | 26–14 (NCAA Division I) 9–4 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA Division I tournament (1994) 3 NCAA Regional—Final Four (1990, 1994, 1995) NIT (1981) NJCAA tournament (1980) 2 MVC regular season (1984, 1985) 2 MVC tournament (1982, 1984) 3 SWC regular season (1989–1991) 3 SWC tournament (1989–1991) 2 SEC regular season (1992, 1994) 4 SEC West Division (1992–1995) SEC tournament (2000) |
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| Awards | |
| NABC Coach of the Year (1994) Naismith College Coach of the Year (1994) 2× MVC Coach of the Year (1981, 1985) 3x SWC Coach of the Year (1989–1991) SEC Coach of the Year (1998) USBWA Most Courageous Award (1995) |
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| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2014 |
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| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2008 |
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Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is a retired American basketball head coach. He is famous for coaching the University of Arkansas team. He led them to win the national championship in 1994. His teams also reached the Final Four three times.
Richardson is the only coach to win three different major championships. These include a Division I National Championship, an NIT championship, and a Junior College National Championship. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. Later, he joined the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. During his 22 years coaching in NCAA Division I, his teams played in post-season tournaments 20 times.
Contents
Early Life and Playing Days
Nolan Richardson was born in El Paso, Texas. His mother passed away when he was very young. He was raised by his grandmother, Rose Richardson. She taught him to be strong and determined. This helped him succeed later in life.
Richardson played college basketball at Eastern Arizona Junior College. He then played for Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso). He played under Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins.
Coaching Career
Starting Out as a Coach
Richardson began his coaching journey at Bowie High School in El Paso. He coached there for ten years. After that, he moved to Western Texas Junior College. He coached the junior college team for three seasons. His record there was an amazing 101 wins and only 13 losses. In his last season, 1979-80, his team went undefeated with a 37-0 record. They won the 1980 National Junior College championship.
Success at the University of Tulsa
From 1980 to 1985, Richardson was the head coach at the University of Tulsa. He led Tulsa to win the NIT championship in 1981. This was a big moment because he was the first African American coach to win an NIT championship.
Richardson made the Tulsa basketball program famous. His teams won conference championships in 1984 and 1985. They also won conference tournaments in 1982 and 1984. He was the first coach in NCAA history to win 50 games in his first two seasons. Richardson became known for wearing colorful polka dot ties. Tulsa students even started wearing polka dots to games to support him!
Leading the Arkansas Razorbacks
In 1985, Richardson became the head coach at the University of Arkansas. He was the first African-American coach at a major university in the South. He also became the first African-American head coach of a men's team in the Southwest Conference.
His coaching style was very fast-paced and intense. It was different from what Arkansas fans were used to. His first season was tough, but by his second year, Arkansas was back in the post-season. Over his 17 years at Arkansas, his teams made 15 post-season appearances.
Richardson led Arkansas to three Final Fours. They reached the semifinals in 1990. In 1994, they won the National Championship against Duke. In 1995, they were the runner-up, losing to UCLA in the championship game. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1994.
His teams were famous for their high-pressure defense and fast-paced offense. This style was known as "40 Minutes of Hell." A documentary about his coaching philosophy was even made by ESPN. Richardson is the winningest basketball coach in Arkansas history. He had 389 wins and 169 losses there. He is the only head coach to win a Junior College National Championship, the NIT Championship, and the NCAA Championship.
Nolan Richardson Court
In 2019, the University of Arkansas honored Nolan Richardson. They voted to name the basketball court in Bud Walton Arena after him. This was to recognize his huge contributions to the university and the state.
Coaching International Teams
Nolan Richardson also coached basketball teams from other countries. He speaks Spanish fluently. From 2005 to 2007, he coached the Panama national team. In 2007, he also coached the Mexico national team.
Coaching in the WNBA
In 2009, Richardson became the head coach and general manager for a new WNBA team in Tulsa. This team became the Tulsa Shock. It was his first time coaching a professional women's team. He coached the Shock for a couple of seasons before leaving in 2011.
Head coaching record
Junior College
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Texas Junior College (Western Junior College Athletic Conference) (1977–1980) | |||||||||
| 1977–78 | Western Texas Junior College | 30–8 | |||||||
| 1978-79 | Western Texas Junior College | 34–5 | 1st | ||||||
| 1979-80 | Western Texas Junior College | 37–0 | 1st | NJCAA Division I National Champions | |||||
| Total: | 101–13 (.886) | ||||||||
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National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
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College
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane (Missouri Valley Conference) (1980–1985) | |||||||||
| 1980–81 | Tulsa | 26–7 | 11–5 | T–2nd | NIT champion | ||||
| 1981–82 | Tulsa | 24–6 | 12–4 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
| 1982–83 | Tulsa | 19–12 | 11–7 | T–3rd | NIT first round | ||||
| 1983–84 | Tulsa | 27–4 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
| 1984–85 | Tulsa | 23–8 | 12–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
| Tulsa: | 119–37 (.763) | 59–22 (.778) | |||||||
| Arkansas Razorbacks (Southwest Conference) (1985–1991) | |||||||||
| 1985–86 | Arkansas | 12–16 | 4–12 | 7th | |||||
| 1986–87 | Arkansas | 19–14 | 8–8 | 5th | NIT second round | ||||
| 1987–88 | Arkansas | 21–9 | 11–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
| 1988–89 | Arkansas | 25–7 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1989–90 | Arkansas | 30–5 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 1990–91 | Arkansas | 34–4 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| Arkansas Razorbacks (Southeastern Conference) (1991–2002) | |||||||||
| 1991–92 | Arkansas | 26–8 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1992–93 | Arkansas | 22–9 | 10–6 | 1st (West) | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1993–94 | Arkansas | 31–3 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I champion | ||||
| 1994–95 | Arkansas | 32–7 | 12–4 | T–1st (West) | NCAA Division I Runner-up | ||||
| 1995–96 | Arkansas | 20–13 | 9–7 | T–2nd (West) | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1996–97 | Arkansas | 18–14 | 8–8 | 2nd (West) | NIT semifinal | ||||
| 1997–98 | Arkansas | 24–9 | 11–5 | 2nd (West) | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1998–99 | Arkansas | 23–11 | 9–7 | 2nd (West) | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1999–00 | Arkansas | 19–15 | 7–9 | 3rd (West) | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
| 2000–01 | Arkansas | 20–11 | 10–6 | 2nd (West) | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
| 2001–02 | Arkansas | 13–14† | 5–10† | T–4th (West) | |||||
| Arkansas: | 389–169 (.697) | 173–98 (.638) | |||||||
| Total: | 508–206 (.711) | ||||||||
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National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
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†Richardson was replaced by interim coach Mike Anderson before the end of the season.
WNBA
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa | 2010 | 34 | 6 | 28 | .176 | 5th in Western | |||||
| Tulsa | 2011 | 11 | 1 | 10 | .091 | (resigned) | |||||
| Career | 45 | 7 | 38 | .156 |
See also
- List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach
