Mbg P. 75-88 Coaches.P65 75 10/5/2005, 2:05 PM Coaching Staff
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mbg p. 75-88 coaches.p65 75 10/5/2005, 2:05 PM Coaching Staff ERNIE KENT HEAD COACH NINTH YEAR OREGON ‘77 KENT FILE 2002 Pac-10 Coach of the Year 2002 Naismith Finalist Born: Jan. 22, 1955 Five postseason appearances. A Pac- Personal: Wife, Dianna, two sons, Marcus (1-29-83) and Jordan (7-24-84) and one 10 title and a Pac-10 tournament title. The daughter, McKenzie (6-6-86) NCAA Elite Eight. Two NIT Final Fours. Three NBA First Round Draft choices. Education: B.A. in Community Service and Public Affairs, Oregon, 1977; Rockford West In just eight years, 2002 Pac-10 Coach (Ill.) High School, 1973 of the Year Ernie Kent has taken the Uni- versity of Oregon to heights not seen since Coaching Career - 25th Year: Head Coach, Oregon (1998-present); Head Coach, St. Basketball Hall of Famer Howard Hobson Mary’s (1992-97); Assistant Coach, Stanford (1990-91); Assistant Coach, Colorado was the Tall Firs’ head coach. State (1988-89); Head Coach, al-Khaleej Club, Sayhat, Saudi Arabia (1981-87); He is the only man to have led Oregon Freshman Coach, Oregon (1980); Head Coach, O’Hara Catholic (Eugene, Ore.) School to three NCAA Tournament appearances, (1979); Freshman Coach, Oregon (1978) as well as Pac-10 regular season and tour- nament titles. In addition to his 2002 league coach of Bracey (2001), Jones (2002) , Ridnour He is the only coach in the Northwest the year honors, the NABC, USBWA and (2003) and Jackson (2004). to take his team to the NCAA Elite 8 this Basketball Times all recognized him as The success Kent has enjoyed at Or- decade. their district coach of the year, and he was egon has resulted in his ascension to third He is a combined 49-13 versus all one of 20 Naismith Coach of the Year fi- among the conference’s active leaders in teams in the Pacific Northwest, including nalists. wins and is by far the head of the class in a 35-11 mark against Pac-10 rivals Oregon Overall, Oregon averages nearly 20 State, Washington and Washington State. wins per season under Kent and has sent His eight wins over UCLA are twice as four players into the NBA Draft. many as any other Oregon coach and rep- Among Kent’s pupils are Pac-10 Player resent a third of Oregon’s all-time wins of the Year and Tournament MVP Luke (24) against the most storied program in Ridnour (2003), first team All-Pac-10 play- the nation. ers Alex Scales (2000), Bryan Bracey His 149 wins rank fourth all-time at Or- (2001), Frederick Jones (2002), Ridnour egon. (2002-03) and Luke Jackson (2003-04), the He has granted Oregon a place on the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (Ridnour, national and international basketball land- 2001), All-Pac-10 freshmen Ridnour scape through his involvement with USA (2001), Jackson (2001), Aaron Brooks Basketball, winning a pair of gold medals (2004), Malik Hairston (2005) and Bryce in 2001 and 2003. Taylor (2005) and NBA Draft choices Kent in the Postseason Not only has Ernie Kent been a regular in the postseason as a coach, once there, his teams have had remarkable success. He has been to 10 postseason tournaments in the last 17 years as a head or assistant coach, and his teams have posted an impressive 19-10 record. 1988 Colorado State NIT Final Four (4-1 record) 1989 Colorado State NCAA Second Round (1-1 record) 1990 Stanford NIT First Round (0-1 record) 1991 Stanford NIT Champions (5-0 record) 1997 St. Mary’s NCAA First Round (0-1 Record) 1999 Oregon NIT Final Four (3-2 record) 2000 Oregon NCAA First Round (0-1 record) 2002 Oregon NCAA Elite Eight (3-1 record) 2003 Oregon NCAA First Round (0-1 record) 2004 Oregon NIT Final Four (3-1 record) 76 2005-06 University of Oregon Basketball mbg p. 75-88 coaches.p65 76 10/5/2005, 2:05 PM Coaching Staff that category among the Northwest schools. Yet the simple plan that has pro- Success On and Off the Court duced those accomplishments is this: First as a player at Oregon and now as As a coach, Ernie Kent has been linked with national success and prominence the school’s 18th head coach, the one thing both on and off the court. Here is a capsule of accomplishments during his that has remained unchanged is the pas- eight years as Oregon’s head coach: sion Ernie Kent professes for a program that has molded his life far beyond any- * 2003 USA Basketball Global Games Coach (Gold Medal) thing you can pick up on a basketball court. * 2002-03 USA Basketball Junior National Team Head Coach The Ducks’ success under Kent originates * 2002 Pac-10 Coach of the Year from the belief that he and his players can accomplish any goal working together as * 2002 Naismith Coach of the Year Finalist a team at the University of Oregon. * 2002 NABC, USBWA and Basketball Times District Coach of the Year Upon his return to the university as * 2001 USA Basketball, Assistant Coach (Gold Medal) coach, it took little time for that renewed * NABC Board of Directors passion to take hold on Eugene and the * Wooden Award Board of Governors surrounding community, which longed for * 2003 Pac-10 Tournament Championship a return to the days when the Kamikaze Kids whipped fans into a frenzy. The * 2002 Pac-10 Championship Rockford, Ill., native became the first Af- * The 2003 Pac-10 Player of the Year and Tournament MVP rican-American head coach in the history * The 2001 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year of University of Oregon athletics when he * Six All-Pac-10 Players was named to the post April 10, 1997. * Five All-Pac-10 Freshmen In his first year, he worked wonders as * Three NBA First Round Draft Choices (and four overall) the Ducks finished in a tie for fifth-place in the Pac-10 and just missed a winning * Three NCAA Tournaments (including the 2002 Elite Eight) record (13-14) and a postseason berth in * Two NIT Final Fours 1997-98. He followed that with a trip to * The best eight-year record by an Oregon coach in more than 50 years the NIT final four in 1998-99 before the next season laid the foundation for the cur- rent era that has witnessed Oregon’s as- cension to the upper echelon of the Pac- 10. The Ducks reached 22 victories in 1999-00 for the first time since 1944-45 and with their NCAA Tournament bid, made back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time in 23 years. That season al- lowed Oregon to collect the best recruit- ing class in the league, led by Luke Jack- son and Luke Ridnour, and that recruiting class, in turn, set the table for a magical run in 2001-02. That season, Kent directed Oregon to its first outright league title since 1938- 39, going 14-4 and leading a record six Pac- 10 teams into the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1960, defeating Montana, Wake Forest and Texas along the way. His team went 16-0 at McArthur Court and 26- 9 overall. In addition to his league coach of the year honors, the NABC, USBWA and Bas- ketball Times all recognized him as their district coach of the year, and he was one of 20 Naismith Coach of the Year finalists. The 14 Pac-10 victories were the most in school history and tied the school’s all- time league mark. And he watched Or- egon set 11 school and two Pac-10 single- season records, while Fred Jones was a NBA First Round selection by the Indiana Pacers. The following year, Kent lead the Ducks to their first Pac-10 Tournament title in 2002-03 with a 23-10 record. That season 2004 NIT Final Four * 2003 Pac-10 Tourney Champs * 2002 NCAA Elite 8 * 2002 Pac-10 Champions * 77 mbg p. 75-88 coaches.p65 77 10/5/2005, 2:06 PM Coaching Staff tional team that won the gold medal at the Ernie Kent’s Head Coaching Record summer games in Japan with a 8-0 record. Year School Record Pct. Conference Post-Season As the head coach at Saint Mary’s Col- 1991-92 St. Mary’s 13-17 .433 4-10 (6th, Tie) lege in Moraga, Calif., from 1991-92 to 1992-93 St. Mary’s 11-16 .407 6-8 (6th) 1996-97, Kent put together a 90-80 ledger, 1993-94 St. Mary’s 13-14 .481 5-9 (7th) including a 23-8 mark in 1996-97 and a 1994-95 St. Mary’s 18-10 .643 10-4 (2nd, Tie) berth in the NCAA Tournament. The tour- 1995-96 St. Mary’s 12-15 .444 5-9 (7th) nament bid, the first at the school since 1996-97 St. Mary’s 23- 8 .742 10-4 (1st) NCAA 1st Round 1989, was the result of the Gaels’ fourth St. Mary’s totals (6 yrs) 90-80 .529 40-44 (.476) conference title in school history. Kent 1997-98 Oregon 13-14 .481 8-10 (5th, Tie) also guided the Gaels to an 18-10 ledger in 1994-95 and still ranks second on the 1998-99 Oregon 19-13 .594 8-10 (5th, Tie) NIT Final Four all-time win chart at Saint Mary’s. 1999-00 Oregon 22- 8 .733 13-5 (3rd) NCAA 1st Round Kent served as an assistant at Stanford 2000-01 Oregon 14-14 .500 5-13 (6th, Tie) under Mike Montgomery for two years 2001-02 Oregon 26- 9 .758 14-4 (1st) NCAA Elite Eight (1990-91), helping the Cardinal advance 2002-03 Oregon 23-10 .697 10-8 (5th) NCAA 1st Round to the NIT both years and winning the NIT 2003-04 Oregon 18-13 .581 9-9 (4th, Tie) NIT Final Four title in 1991.