John Pelphrey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Pelphrey (born July 18, 1968 in Paintsville, Kentucky) is an American college basketball coach. He was a star college player at the University of Kentucky.

During his freshman year in 1988-89, the UK program was rocked by a major scandal. One player, Eric Manuel, was found by the NCAA to have received improper assistance on his college entrance exams. A second player, Chris Mills, received cash payments from a booster. The scandal led to the resignation of coach Eddie Sutton and athletic director Cliff Hagan, and led to major NCAA sanctions. Pelphrey and his fellow freshmen, Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, and Sean Woods, stayed with the program despite the sanctions, and entered UK lore during their senior season in 1991-92.

That year, a relatively unheralded Kentucky team, in its first year after coming off NCAA probation, lost to Duke in the Elite Eight. This game is often considered one of the greatest in college basketball history, ending with the Blue Devils' Christian Laettner's buzzer beating jumper, which is arguably the most famous finish to a college game. The four seniors, as undisputed team leaders who showed their loyalty to UK during some of the program's darkest hours, would forever be known by Wildcats fans as "The Unforgettables."

After leaving Kentucky, Pelphrey spent a short time playing basketball overseas before joining his former coach Eddie Sutton's staff at Oklahoma State. Pelphrey then joined Billy Donovan's staff at Marshall, and followed him to Florida where he coached as an assistant for six seasons. He is now head coach at the University of South Alabama. In his first season there in 2002-03, Pelphrey led the Jaguars from a 8-20 record the year before to a 14-14 record. Now in his fourth season, Pelphrey has accumulated a 60-54 record at USA. In 2005-06 the Jaguars defeated Western Kentucky University in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game, earning USA's first NCAA tournament bid since 1998.