Kevin O'Neill (basketball)
Encyclopedia
Kevin O'Neill is an American
head coach of the USC Trojans basketball team. His personal webpage is www.coachkohoops.com http://www.coachkohoops.com
O'Neill was born in Malone, New York
and attended McGill University
in Montreal
, Canada
. He lettered in basketball for three years in college, 1976–79, and in 1978 the McGill Redman had a school-record 28 win season and entered the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball championship
tournament. He graduated from McGill in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in education, and later earned his master's degree in secondary education from Marycrest College
in 1983, where he also served as head coach of the NAIA
basketball team for the 1982–83 season.
(Saranac Lake
, New York
), Marycrest College (Davenport
, Iowa
), Marquette
, Tennessee
and Northwestern
. During his tenure as the Northwestern coach O'Neill is most notably remembered for a game with Indiana where the rowdy Northwestern faithful chanted "Hoosier Daddy" (a play on "Who's Your Daddy?") at opposing coach Bob Knight. Of course this did not sit well with Knight as he and O'Neill got into it during the contest. However all was settled under a practice gym basket well after the game as ESPN camera crews caught the coaches talking their issues out. He would eventually became an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy
with the New York Knicks
. In 2001, he joined the Detroit Pistons
under head coach Rick Carlisle
.
, O'Neill led the Warriors to two 20+ win season, two NCAA tournament appearances, and a Great Midwest Conference
Championship. O'Neill played a prominent role in the 1994 Oscar-nominated documentary, Hoop Dreams
.
graduate returned to Canada in June 2003 as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors
. His tenure was marked by inconsistency among his players, but the team was 25–25 after 50 games and in a position to return to the playoffs. However, injuries to key players resulted in the team going 8–24 to finish the season three games out of a playoff spot. On April 17, 2004, O'Neill was fired in the aftermath of a disappointing 2003-2004 season
, after making some remarks which were taken to question the team's commitment to winning.
he was hired as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers
where he rejoined head coach Rick Carlisle
.
at the University of Arizona
. O'Neill was an assistant under Olson during Arizona's rise to national prominence in the 1980s, and used it as a launching board to attain his first major head coaching position at Marquette.
On November 4, 2007, Olson announced that he was taking an "indefinite leave of absence", and that O'Neill would assume Olson's head coaching duties in his absence. On December 6 Olson released a statement stating that he would be extending his leave of absence for the remainder of the season. He cited personal family reasons that required his immediate attention; the next day, his attorney revealed that Olson had filed for divorce from his second wife. The same day it was announced that O'Neill would remain the interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Later the same month, on December 18, Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood announced O'Neill as the designated successor to Olson. Olson said at the time he planned to return for the 2008-09 season; Livengood stated that O'Neill would succeed Olson upon his retirement. In March 2008, Olson confirmed that he would return as head coach for the 2008-2009 season, and said that he planned to coach until his contract ended in 2011. With the announcement of Olson's return, the O'Neill succession plan was thrown into question amidst media rumors of disagreement between Olson and O'Neill.
Only a month later, Lute Olson announced that O'Neill would not be retained on the University of Arizona staff. After spending the spring and summer preparing for the upcoming season, Olson abruptly and unexpectedly announced his permanent retirement from the Arizona basketball program in October 2008; his personal physician cited health concerns as the reason.
of the NBA
.
O'Neill, his wife, and alumnus Nik Visger were involved in an altercation with a prominent Arizona Wildcats
booster at his hotel on March 10.
As a result, O'Neill was suspended for the rest of the Pac-10 tournament, which resulted in a 67-62 loss for the Trojans.
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|82||33||49||.402|| align="center" |6th in Central||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||82||33||49||.402|| ||—||—||—||—
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
head coach of the USC Trojans basketball team. His personal webpage is www.coachkohoops.com http://www.coachkohoops.com
O'Neill was born in Malone, New York
Malone (village), New York
-Notable natives:Notable natives include:*William Almon Wheeler served as Vice President of the United States under Rutherford Hayes. Is buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone....
and attended McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He lettered in basketball for three years in college, 1976–79, and in 1978 the McGill Redman had a school-record 28 win season and entered the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball championship
Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball championship
The W. P. McGee Trophy is a Canadian sports award, presented annually to the winner of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship in men's basketball....
tournament. He graduated from McGill in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in education, and later earned his master's degree in secondary education from Marycrest College
Marycrest International University
Marycrest College Historic District is located on a bluff overlooking the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district encompasses the campus of Marycrest International University, which was a small, private collegiate institution...
in 1983, where he also served as head coach of the NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
basketball team for the 1982–83 season.
Early coaching career
O'Neill's head coaching career began with tenures at North Country Community CollegeNorth Country Community College
North Country Community College, founded in 1967, is a community college of the State University of New York located in Upstate New York. The main campus is in Saranac Lake, New York, and serves Franklin and Essex Counties; enrollment is approximately 2300 students. It employs 143 permanent and 300...
(Saranac Lake
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
), Marycrest College (Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
), Marquette
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
, Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
and Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. During his tenure as the Northwestern coach O'Neill is most notably remembered for a game with Indiana where the rowdy Northwestern faithful chanted "Hoosier Daddy" (a play on "Who's Your Daddy?") at opposing coach Bob Knight. Of course this did not sit well with Knight as he and O'Neill got into it during the contest. However all was settled under a practice gym basket well after the game as ESPN camera crews caught the coaches talking their issues out. He would eventually became an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy
Jeff Van Gundy
Jeffrey William "Jeff" Van Gundy is a former American basketball head coach. He coached most recently with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets...
with the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. In 2001, he joined the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
under head coach Rick Carlisle
Rick Carlisle
Richard Preston Carlisle is the head coach of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He has also coached the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, and was previously a player in the NBA. He is also one of the only 11 people to win an NBA championship both as a player and as a coach.-Playing career:Carlisle...
.
Marquette Golden Eagles
As the head coach at MarquetteMarquette Golden Eagles
The Marquette Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Marquette University....
, O'Neill led the Warriors to two 20+ win season, two NCAA tournament appearances, and a Great Midwest Conference
Great Midwest Conference
The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I athletics conference which existed from 1991 to 1995.It was formed in 1990 with six members--Cincinnati and Memphis State from the Metro Conference; UAB from the Sun Belt Conference; Marquette and Saint Louis from the Midwestern Collegiate...
Championship. O'Neill played a prominent role in the 1994 Oscar-nominated documentary, Hoop Dreams
Hoop Dreams
Hoop Dreams is a 1994 documentary film directed by Steve James, with Kartemquin Films. It follows the story of two African-American high school students in Chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players....
.
Toronto Raptors 2003–04
The McGill UniversityMcGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
graduate returned to Canada in June 2003 as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
. His tenure was marked by inconsistency among his players, but the team was 25–25 after 50 games and in a position to return to the playoffs. However, injuries to key players resulted in the team going 8–24 to finish the season three games out of a playoff spot. On April 17, 2004, O'Neill was fired in the aftermath of a disappointing 2003-2004 season
2003-04 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-Yearly awards:*Most Valuable Player: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves*Rookie of the Year: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers*Defensive Player of the Year: Ron Artest, Indiana Pacers...
, after making some remarks which were taken to question the team's commitment to winning.
Indiana Pacers
In the 2004-2005 season2004-05 NBA season
The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association . It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating defending champion Detroit Pistons 4–3 in the NBA Finals....
he was hired as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
where he rejoined head coach Rick Carlisle
Rick Carlisle
Richard Preston Carlisle is the head coach of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He has also coached the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, and was previously a player in the NBA. He is also one of the only 11 people to win an NBA championship both as a player and as a coach.-Playing career:Carlisle...
.
Arizona Wildcats 2007–08
On May 1, 2007 it was announced that O'Neill would replace Jim Rosborough as the assistant coach to Hall of Famer Lute OlsonLute Olson
Robert Luther "Lute" Olson is a retired American men's basketball coach. He was most recently head coach at the University of Arizona for a period of 25 years. He was also head coach at the University of Iowa for 9 years and California State University, Long Beach for one season...
at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. O'Neill was an assistant under Olson during Arizona's rise to national prominence in the 1980s, and used it as a launching board to attain his first major head coaching position at Marquette.
On November 4, 2007, Olson announced that he was taking an "indefinite leave of absence", and that O'Neill would assume Olson's head coaching duties in his absence. On December 6 Olson released a statement stating that he would be extending his leave of absence for the remainder of the season. He cited personal family reasons that required his immediate attention; the next day, his attorney revealed that Olson had filed for divorce from his second wife. The same day it was announced that O'Neill would remain the interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Later the same month, on December 18, Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood announced O'Neill as the designated successor to Olson. Olson said at the time he planned to return for the 2008-09 season; Livengood stated that O'Neill would succeed Olson upon his retirement. In March 2008, Olson confirmed that he would return as head coach for the 2008-2009 season, and said that he planned to coach until his contract ended in 2011. With the announcement of Olson's return, the O'Neill succession plan was thrown into question amidst media rumors of disagreement between Olson and O'Neill.
Only a month later, Lute Olson announced that O'Neill would not be retained on the University of Arizona staff. After spending the spring and summer preparing for the upcoming season, Olson abruptly and unexpectedly announced his permanent retirement from the Arizona basketball program in October 2008; his personal physician cited health concerns as the reason.
Memphis Grizzlies 2008–09
In May 2008, O'Neill was hired as an assistant coach & special assistant to the GM for the Memphis GrizzliesMemphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
of the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
.
USC Trojans 2009–present
On June 20, 2009, O'Neill was named head coach of the USC men's basketball team.O'Neill, his wife, and alumnus Nik Visger were involved in an altercation with a prominent Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats
-Athletic program:The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific-12 Conference Arizona participates in the conference's South Division, along with Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC, and Utah...
booster at his hotel on March 10.
As a result, O'Neill was suspended for the rest of the Pac-10 tournament, which resulted in a 67-62 loss for the Trojans.
College
NBA
|-| align="left" |TOR
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
| align="left" |
|82||33||49||.402|| align="center" |6th in Central||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||82||33||49||.402|| ||—||—||—||—
External links
- Kevin O'Neill profile @ NBA.com
- Kevin O'Neill Named USC Men's Basketball Head Coach, USCTrojans.com