John Pelphrey

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John Pelphrey
Date of birth July 18, 1968 (age 38)
Place of birth Flag of United States Paintsville, Kentucky
Sport Basketball
College South Alabama
Title Head Coach
School as a player
1989-1992 Kentucky
Position Forward
Coaching positions
2003-present
1996-2002
1994-1996
1993-1994		 South Alabama
Florida (asst.)
Marshall (asst.)
Oklahoma State (asst.)

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.

Contents

[edit] Playing Career

[edit] College

While a player at Kentucky from 1988-1992, Pelphrey led the Wildcats to the SEC Tournament Championship and a NCAA Tournament appearance, including the epic battle with Duke in the 1992 Elite Eight. Pelphrey was a two-time captain while at Kentucky and in 1999 was named the UK Student Athlete of the Year. In 2005, Pelphrey was inducted into the Kentucky Hall of Fame.[1]

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 in overtime, 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."

[edit] Coaching Career

[edit] Oklahoma State

After leaving Kentucky, Pelphrey spent a short time playing basketball overseas before joining his former coach Eddie Sutton's staff at Oklahoma State for the 1993-94 season.[1]

[edit] Marshall

Pelphrey joined Billy Donovan's staff at Marshall for two years and was instrumental in the resurgence of the Thundering Herd program.

[edit] Florida

In 1996, he followed Donovan from Marshall to Florida and coached as an an assistant for 6 years. He helped the Gators garnish a school record four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1999 to 2002. During the 1999-2000 season, the Gators made their first-ever appearance in the national championship game against Michigan State.[1]

[edit] South Alabama

Pelphrey 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.The Jaguars lost to eventual tournament champions Florida in the round of 64.

In 2007, Pelphrey led the Jags to a regular season title but they fell short in the Sun Belt Conference tournament quarterfinals. This led to an NIT birth and resulted in a loss to Syracuse in the first round 79-73. [2]

[edit] Awards

  • 1987 Mr. Basketball for the state of Kentucky at Paintsville High School
  • 1991 AP All-SEC Second-team forward
  • One of 29 former Kentucky Wildcat players to have his jersey retired (#34)

†Source: Univerisity of South Alabama[1]

[edit] Trivia

  • Pelphrey was an asssitant at Florida when they handed South Alabama an 82-61 loss on Dec. 30, 1999
  • While an assistant at Oklahoma State, Pelphrey worked under Eddie Sutton, the same guy he played under at Kentucky during his freshman year
  • In high school, he was a pitcher and a shortstop for the baseball team
  • Played on 1992 Kentucky team that lost to Duke in the NCAA Elite Eight, a game that is considered one of the best games of all-time
  • Seven of his nine teams as assistant coach have recorded winning records
  • Has appeared in six NCAA Tournaments; one as a player (1992) and five as an assistant (1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) and one as a head coach (2005-2006)
  • Started 90 of 114 games at Kentucky and finished his career with an 11.0 scoring average

‡Source: Univerisity of South Alabama[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e John Pelphrey . USAJaguars.com (2006-07-30). Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
  2. ^ College Hoops. CNNSI.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-14.

[edit] External links



Fredrick • Taylor • Ellis • Arrow • Prada • Weltlich • Musselman • Hanks • Pelphrey


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