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 Division I 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 famous American former basketball coach. He is best known for coaching the University of Arkansas team. He led the Razorbacks to win the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and reach the Final Four three times.
Richardson was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. He also joined the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. He is the only coach to win a Division I National Championship, an NIT championship, and a Junior College National Championship. During his 22 years coaching in NCAA Division I, his teams played in a post-season tournament 20 times.
Early Life and College Basketball
Nolan Richardson was born in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. His mother passed away when he was young. He and his sisters then moved in with their grandmother, Rose Richardson. She helped teach Nolan to be determined and work hard to succeed.
Nolan played college basketball at Eastern Arizona Junior College. Later, he played for Texas Western College, which is now the University of Texas at El Paso. He played his junior and senior years for the Miners under coach Don Haskins.
Coaching Journey Begins
Richardson started his coaching career at Bowie High School in El Paso. He coached there for ten years. After that, he moved to Western Texas Junior College. He coached there for three seasons, winning 101 games and losing only 13. In his last season at Western Texas, in 1979-80, his team had a perfect 37-0 record. They won the 1980 National Junior College championship.
Leading the Tulsa Golden Hurricane
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 helped the Tulsa basketball program become well-known. His teams won conference championships in 1984 and 1985. They also won conference tournament titles in 1982 and 1984. He had a great winning record at Tulsa. He was the first coach in NCAA history to win 50 games in his first two seasons. While coaching at Tulsa, Richardson became known for wearing many different polka dot ties. Students at Tulsa would even wear polka dots to games to support him!
Coaching 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 was also the first African-American head coach of a men's program in the Southwest Conference.
His coaching style was very fast-paced and intense. It was different from what Arkansas fans were used to. In his first season, the team had a losing record. However, by his second year, Arkansas was back in the post-season. By his third year, they were in the NCAA Tournament. Over his 17 years at Arkansas, his teams made 15 post-season appearances.
Richardson led Arkansas to the Final Four three times. They reached the semifinals in 1990. In 1994, they won the National Championship against Duke. In 1995, they made it to the Championship game again but lost to UCLA. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 1994.
His Arkansas teams won an average of 27 games per season in the 1990s. They were one of the winningest teams of that decade. Nolan's Arkansas teams won at least 20 games 12 times. They also had four seasons with 30 or more wins.
His teams played with a lot of energy and strong defense. This style was famously called "40 Minutes of Hell." In 2012, a documentary about his coaching philosophy was shown on ESPN. Richardson is the winningest basketball coach in Arkansas history. He had a record of 389 wins and 169 losses in 17 seasons. He is the only head coach to win a Junior College National Championship, the NIT Championship, and the NCAA Championship.
Changes at Arkansas
During his time at Arkansas, Richardson sometimes spoke about challenges faced by black coaches. In 2002, he made a statement about how he felt he was being treated. Soon after, Arkansas decided to let him go as head coach.
In 2011, Mike Anderson, who used to be Richardson's assistant, became Arkansas' head coach. Richardson often attended Arkansas home games during Anderson's time as coach. In 2019, Anderson was replaced by Eric Musselman.
Nolan Richardson Court Dedication
On March 28, 2019, the University of Arkansas decided to honor Nolan Richardson. They voted to name the basketball court in Bud Walton Arena after him. This was to recognize his important contributions to the university and the state of Arkansas. Many people had supported this idea.
Coaching Around the World
From 2005 to 2007, Richardson coached the Panama national team. He speaks Spanish fluently. In March 2007, he also became the head coach of the Mexico national basketball team.
Coaching in the WNBA
In 2009, Richardson was named 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 team and women's basketball.
His time with the Shock was challenging. Many key players from the team's previous location did not move to Tulsa. This meant Richardson had to build a new team. The players also found it hard to get used to his fast-paced coaching style. He resigned on July 8, 2011.
Coaching Records
Junior College Record
| 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 National Champions | |||||
| Total: | 101–13 (.886) | ||||||||
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National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
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College Record
| 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 Record
| 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
In Spanish: Nolan Richardson para niños
- List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach
