John Becker (basketball)

John Becker (born April 17, 1968) is the head coach of the University of Vermont Catamounts men's basketball team.^[1] He replaced Mike Lonergan, who left to become the coach at George Washington University.

Biography

Coaching career

Becker's college coaching career began in 1994 when he became an assistant at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. In 1997, Becker was elevated to head coach of the Bison, where he served from 1997-99. Becker also served as the men's tennis coach, despite never playing the game, and also worked in the information technology field, as the coaching positions were part-time. He briefly left coaching to pursue a master's degree in information systems at George Washington University, however in 2004 Becker returned to coaching at his alma mater Catholic as an assistant coach under Steve Howes. While at Catholic, he helped guide the team to a 41-17 record, which included a 21-7 mark and NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2005-06. His first year with Catholic saw the Cardinals go 20-10 and advance to the Capital Athletic Conference Championship game.^[2]

In 2006-07, Becker joined the Vermont staff as director of basketball operations, serving in the role for two seasons before being promoted to assistant coach. Since his arrival, UVM has earned three postseason berths, including the 2010 NCAA Tournament.^[3] On May 10, 2011, Becker was named interim head coach of the Catamounts while search was conducted.^[4] On May 20, 2011, Vermont lifted the interim tag and named Becker the 16th coach in Vermont basketball history.^[5]

In his first year in charge of the Catamounts, Becker led Vermont to a second-place finish in the America East Conference with a 24-12 overall record and 13-3 mark in conference, winning the America East Championship for Vermont's fifth NCAA Tournament bid in nine years, defeating Stony Brook 51-43. Becker became just the second first-year head coach since Northeastern's Karl Fogel to win the conference tournament. He also set a Vermont record for most wins by a first-year head coach, breaking a 90-year-old record set by Tom Keady in the 1921-22 season with a 73-63 win on the road over Maine. In its NCAA First Round match up the Catamounts picked up their second-ever NCAA Tournament win, defeating Lamar 71-59 before falling to top-seeded North Carolina 77-58 in the Second Round.

Personal life

Becker and his wife Kelly reside in Burlington, Vermont with their daughters Katherine and Ella.^[3]

Head coaching record

College

References