MOBILE, Ala. John Pelphrey, one of the nations most sought-after assistant coaches, was named the mens basketball head coach at the University of South Alabama on Friday, athletics director Joe Gottfried announced during a press conference.
Needless to say, we are extremely thrilled and excited to have John Pelphrey leading our basketball program, Gottfried said. John has had the opportunity to associate with coaches like C.M. Newton, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino and Billy Donovan and comes to South Alabama with a wealth of knowledge.
Now John can pool together what hes learned from these people and put his stamp on his philosophy. We had four good candidates and were extremely pleased with the high caliber of coaches interested in our position.
Pelphrey (pronounced Pell-free) becomes the ninth Jaguar coach in the schools 34-year history, and the first assistant coach to be named head coach from such a prominent program.
Pelphrey, an assistant coach in the college ranks the past nine years, comes to South Alabama after spending the last six years at the University of Florida as top assistant to Billy Donovan.
I am very excited and proud to be the next coach at the University of South Alabama, Pelphrey said. Im looking forward to helping develop young men into quality student athletes and competing for Sun Belt Conference championships.
After a stellar four-year playing career at the University of Kentucky under coaches Rick Pitino and Eddie Sutton, Pelphrey accepted his first coaching job at Oklahoma State where he spent the 1993-94 season. One year later, he moved to Marshall University and joined Donovan where he played a major role for two seasons in the resurgence of the Thundering Herd program.
In 1996, he followed Donovan from Marshall to Florida and helped the Gators to 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. This past season, Pelphrey was another part of history as the Gators recorded their fourth straight 20-win season.
While a player at Kentucky from 1989-1992, Pelphrey led the Wildcats to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, 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.
Following graduation in 1992, Pelphrey played two seasons of professional basketball overseas in France and Spain. A former Mr. Basketball at Paintsville High School in Kentucky, he is married to the former Tracy Lyon. The couple has two children, a son Jaxson Hamilton (5) and daughter Ann-Marie Grace Donovan (2).
Pelphrey takes over for Bob Weltlich, who resigned earlier this week after five years of directing the Jaguars.
For more information on Coach Pelphrey, click below.
http://www.southalabama.edu/athletics/mbasketball/pelphreyfile.html
http://www.southalabama.edu/athletics/mbasketball/pelphreyquotes.html
http://www.southalabama.edu/athletics/mbasketball/pelphreyyearbyyear.html
http://www.usajaguars.com
courtesy South Alabama sports information