Oliver Purnell facts for kids
Purnell as Clemson coach in 2007
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| Biographical details | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | May 19, 1953 Berlin, Maryland, U.S. |
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| Playing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972–1975 | Old Dominion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1977 | Old Dominion (GA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1985 | Old Dominion (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1988 | Maryland (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1991 | Radford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1994 | Old Dominion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–2003 | Dayton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2010 | Clemson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | DePaul | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coaching record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall | 448–386 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tournaments | 0–6 (NCAA Division I) 10–8 (NIT) |
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| Accomplishments and honors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CAA Tournament (1992) 2× CAA Regular Season (1993, 1994) |
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| Awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (1998) CAA Coach of the Year (1993) Big South Coach of the Year (1991) |
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Medal record
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Oliver Gordon Purnell Jr. (born May 19, 1953) is a former American college basketball coach. He led several college teams, including Radford University, Old Dominion University, the University of Dayton, Clemson University, and DePaul University. Over his career, he had a total record of 448 wins and 386 losses.
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Oliver Purnell's Early Life and Playing Career
Oliver Purnell was born in Berlin, Maryland. He was one of four children. He went to Stephen Decatur High School. There, he played on the boys' basketball team. In 1970, his team won the Maryland Class B championship.
Purnell was a talented basketball player. He was recruited to play at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. During his time at Old Dominion, he had a very successful playing career.
College Basketball Achievements
Purnell scored 1,090 points, which put him 18th on Old Dominion's all-time scoring list. He helped his team, the Monarchs, win the 1975 NCAA Division II national championship. That same year, he was recognized as an honorable mention Division II All-American.
In his senior year, Purnell averaged 14.4 points per game. As a junior, he averaged 13.8 points. He scored 25 points in a key championship game in 1975. He also had many assists, with 474 in his career. This placed him sixth on the school's all-time list. He still holds a record for eight steals in a single game in 1975.
Professional Draft and Hall of Fame
In 1975, Purnell was chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks in the sixth round of the 1975 NBA draft.
He was honored for his achievements by being inducted into the Stephen Decatur High School Hall of Fame in 2008. He also joined the Old Dominion University Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Oliver Purnell's Coaching Journey
Purnell started his coaching career at Old Dominion University in 1975 as a graduate assistant. He later became a full-time assistant coach. During this time, he helped Old Dominion reach the postseason seven times.
In 1985, he became an assistant coach at the University of Maryland. After three seasons there, he became the head coach at Radford University.
Head Coach at Radford and Old Dominion
At Radford, Purnell made a huge difference. His 1990-91 team improved by 15 wins from the previous season. This was one of the biggest one-year turnarounds in NCAA history.
In 1991, he returned to Old Dominion as the head coach. After another successful period, he moved to the University of Dayton in 1994.
Leading the Dayton Flyers
As head coach at Dayton, Purnell led the Flyers to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament twice, in 2000 and 2003.
He also coached the USA World University Team in 1999. His team won all eight of their games and earned a gold medal in Australia. For this achievement, he received the USA Basketball's 1999 Developmental Coach of the Year Award. He also served on important basketball committees.
Coaching at Clemson and DePaul
After Dayton, Purnell became the head coach at Clemson University in 2003. He steadily improved the team each season. In 2006–07, he was the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The NABC is an organization for basketball coaches.
That season, his team reached the championship game of the NIT. In 2008, he led the Tigers to a third-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They also finished as runner-up in the ACC Tournament. The 2007–08 season was Clemson's first time in the NCAA Tournament in ten years. However, Purnell was never able to win an NCAA tournament game with any of his teams.
In 2008, Clemson extended Purnell's contract until 2014. On April 6, 2010, he signed a seven-year deal with DePaul University. He announced his resignation from DePaul at the end of the 2014–2015 season.
