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. Coach Purnell is known for his long career in basketball, both as a player and a coach, helping many teams improve and achieve success. He had a total career record of 448 wins and 386 losses.
Early Life and Playing Days
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. His team won the Maryland Class B championship in 1970.
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. He scored 1,090 points, which placed him 18th on ODU's all-time scoring list.
In 1975, he helped lead the Old Dominion Monarchs to win the NCAA Division II national championship. That same year, he was recognized as an honorable mention Division II All-American. He averaged 14.4 points per game in his senior year. He also had 474 career assists, which was sixth all-time at his school. He still holds a school record for eight steals in a single game in 1975.
After college, Purnell was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1975 NBA draft. He was later inducted into the Stephen Decatur High School Hall of Fame in 2008. He also joined the ODU Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Becoming a Coach
Oliver Purnell started his coaching career at Old Dominion University. He became a graduate assistant coach in 1975. Later, he became a full-time assistant coach. During his time as an assistant, he helped ODU reach the postseason seven times.
In 1985, he became an assistant coach at the University of Maryland. He worked there for three seasons. After that, he became the head coach at Radford University in 1988.
Coaching Highlights
At Radford, Coach Purnell made a big difference. His 1990-91 team had a 22–7 record. This was a 15-game improvement from the year before. This is considered one of the biggest one-year turnarounds in NCAA history.
In 1991, he returned to Old Dominion as the head coach. After a successful period there, he moved to the University of Dayton in 1994. At Dayton, he led the Flyers to two appearances in the NCAA Tournament (in 2000 and 2003).
Coach Purnell also had success on the international stage. In 1999, he was the head coach for the USA World University Team. He led the team to an 8–0 record and won the 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.
Later Coaching Years
In 2003, Purnell became the head coach at Clemson University. He steadily improved the program each season. He also served as the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches from 2006 to 2007.
In 2007, his Clemson team reached the championship game of the NIT. They lost in the final, but it was a great achievement. In 2008, he guided the Tigers to a third-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They also made it to the ACC Tournament final. The 2007–08 season was Clemson's first time in the NCAA Tournament in ten years. However, Coach Purnell was never able to win an NCAA tournament game during his time at ODU, Dayton, or Clemson.
On April 6, 2010, Purnell signed a seven-year deal to coach at DePaul University. He coached there until the end of the 2014–2015 season, when he announced his resignation.
