Oliver Purnell Hometown: Berlin, MD Position: Head Coach Experience: 32 years Alma Mater: Old Dominion '75

After six years as the head men's basketball coach at Clemson, Oliver Purnell has taken the Tiger program to new heights and instilled a sense of stability as well. He has a record of 117-77 during his tenure at Clemson, and has taken the Tigers to five consecutive postseason appearances. Clemson has improved its winning percentage each of the last five years and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons under Purnell.

The 2008-09 season was record-breaking on many fronts. Purnell's team finished with a 23-9 record, a .719 winning percentage, and a #24 final ranking in the Associated Press poll. Purnell and former Georgia Tech mentor Bobby Cremins are the only two coaches in ACC history to guide their teams to five consecutive years of improvement in winning percentage. The Tigers won 20 or more games for the third straight season, a first in school history. In fact, in the last three seasons (2006-09), only North Carolina and Duke have more wins than Clemson (72) among ACC schools.

The Tigers won 10 games away from home in 2008-09, most by a Clemson team since 1996-97. Purnell's squad finished the regular season in the ACC with a 9-7 record, giving the program its first back-to-back winning records in the conference since 1965-66 and 1966-67. Seven of the team's nine conference wins were by double digits, a school record. Included among Clemson's victims in 2008-09 was #3 Duke, who lost to the Tigers by a score of 74-47 on Feb. 4 at Littlejohn Coliseum. It was the largest margin of victory ever for Clemson against a ranked opponent. The Tigers also won four ACC games on the road, including over an NCAA Tournament team in Boston College and following a 15-point come-from-behind effort at Virginia Tech.

Purnell coached junior forward Trevor Booker to an outstanding individual season in 2008-09. Booker was named second-team All-ACC and first-team All-District III by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Booker led the ACC in field goal percentage and rebounding and was also named to the league's All-Defensive Team. Purnell's senior class - consisting of K.C. Rivers, Raymond Sykes, and Jesse Yanutola - won a school-record 91 games in their four years with the program.

Purnell constantly preached to his 2007-08 team in the preseason about "busting down the door" to the NCAA Tournament, and the motivational tactic certainly paid off for his program on Selection Sunday. Clemson earned a #5 seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, giving the school its first appearance in the "Big Dance" since the 1997-98 season. Purnell's squad also advanced to the ACC championship game, Clemson's first since 1962 and only second tournament final appearance in the 55-year history of the event.

He coached the Tigers to a thrilling, 78-74 victory over #2 seed Duke (ranked #7 nationally) in the semifinal round to set up a third showdown with top-ranked and top-seeded North Carolina. The Tar Heels won the tournament, but the respect Purnell's program gained was immeasurable. Clemson was ranked 22nd in the final AP poll, the program's first final ranking since the 1996-97 season and just the fifth time in school history the Tigers were ranked in the final poll.

Purnell coached the Tigers to significant team and individual achievements in 2007-08. Clemson began the season with a 10-0 record, which included wins over NCAA Tournament bound teams Mississippi State and Purdue. The Tigers finished in third place after going 10-6 in the ACC during the regular season, which matched a school record for league wins. Clemson won seven straight home ACC games, which included thrilling overtime wins over Florida State and Wake Forest, as well as a memorable one-point Senior Day triumph over Virginia Tech. For the second straight season, Purnell's group won three league road games, two in come-from-behind fashion. The Tigers overcame a school-record 20-point second half deficit to defeat Maryland after freshman Terrence Oglesby sank the game-winning three-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining. In the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, Purnell's team defeated Boston College by a school-record tying 34-point margin (82-48).

Individually, several of his players earned high marks for their outstanding play over the course of the 2007-08 season. Rivers was named second-team All-ACC and Cliff Hammonds was named to the third team. Rivers was named first-team All-ACC Tournament, as was Booker. Hammonds and James Mays were second-team All-ACC Tournament, giving the Tigers their most-ever all-tournament selections. Hammonds was named Academic All-ACC for the third time in his decorated career. He was also the recipient of the first-ever "Skip" Prosser Award, given to the league's top student-athlete for men's basketball.

The 2006-07 season was a landmark season as well for both Clemson basketball and Purnell. The Tigers matched a school record with 25 wins (1986-87), which was also a single-season best for Purnell in his 20 years as a Division I head coach. Purnell led the team to 17 consecutive victories to open the season, also tying a record held by the 1986-87 Tigers. Included in the 17-game win streak were the Tigers' first two games of the ACC regular season, both thrilling Clemson victories. He guided the Tigers to a 68-66 win at Florida State and then a 75-74 victory over Georgia Tech at home, both games decided in the final three seconds by Clemson field goals.

The Tigers were the nation's last remaining unbeaten, and as a result, Purnell and the program received national recognition across several fronts. He appeared on `Cold Pizza' and `Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith', both ESPN broadcasts. He also was a guest of the Jim Rome Show, a popular daily radio show based out of Los Angeles. The team's incredible start was also documented by Basketball Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one of the nation's largest daily newspapers. Clemson also appeared on the ESPN family of networks for 11 games during the season, including NIT wins over Ole Miss, Syracuse, and Air Force.

By virtue of reaching the 20-win mark, Purnell became just the seventh active Division I head coach to take at least four schools to 20+ win seasons. Clemson also improved by at least three wins in three straight seasons. Purnell joined Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) and Bobby Cremins (Georgia Tech) as the only coaches in ACC history to accomplish that feat at a league school.

The Tigers were 18-1 versus non-conference opponents in 2006-07, including a perfect 4-0 mark against SEC teams. It marked the first time Clemson had four wins against the SEC in the same season. Purnell also led the Tigers to an NIT quarterfinal win over Syracuse and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim. It marked the first win for the Tiger program over a Hall of Fame coach (Dean Smith, North Carolina) in 11 years.

Clemson also returned to the national polls for the first time since the 1998-99 season. The Tigers were ranked in the USA Today coaches' poll for eight consecutive weeks, which included a high of #14 on January 8, 2007. Clemson reached the #1 spot in the Sagarin computer ratings on December 14, 2006. Purnell also led Clemson to three ACC road wins, most since 1996-97. For the second straight season, Purnell took the Tigers into Cassell Coliseum on Senior Night and defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Tigers' 75-74 win came against a ranked Tech team that was playing for a #1 seed in the ACC Tournament. Clemson finished the 2006-07 season with a 25-11 record and advanced to the NIT championship game for the second time in school history.

It has been a steady move up the victory ladder for Purnell since he came to Clemson in April of 2003. In his first season (2003-04), he guided the team to wins over two top-15 teams, North Carolina and N.C. State and had four wins overall against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In his second season, the 2004-05 campaign, he led the Tigers to a six-win improvement and first postseason appearance since 1999. Clemson earned a berth in the NIT and finished the season with a 16-16 overall record.

In 2004-05, Purnell led Clemson to a three-game sweep of ACC foe Maryland, something the Tigers had not done against a conference foe since defeating N.C. State three times in the 1993-94 season. Clemson defeated the Terps at home 88-73, then 97-93 in College Park. The Tigers completed the trifecta with an 84-72 win over Maryland in Washington, D.C. at the 2005 ACC Tournament, giving Clemson its first ever season three-game sweep of the Terrapins. Purnell's young squad raised even more eyebrows while building a 13-point advantage in the final quarter of the game over eventual national champion North Carolina in the tournament quarterfinals. Clemson was unable to hang on for the victory, but the performance showed the program's potential.

Purnell also guided the Tigers to some exciting, last second victories in his second year. First, he took his young team into a hostile environment at the Colonial Center in Columbia to play arch-rival South Carolina. In front of 17,828 fans, Clemson took home a 63-62 overtime win on a three-point goal with 3.4 seconds left. Purnell's squad also defeated Virginia Tech at home, 66-64, in what turned out to be the latest game-winning shot in school history. Sharrod Ford scored on a slam dunk off a steal and assist by Shawan Robinson at the buzzer to give Clemson the thrilling victory.

Purnell coached a pair of All-ACC performers in 2004-05. Ford was a third-team All-ACC selection after posting 14.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Purnell also coached Hammonds, who was selected to the ACC's All-Rookie team. He averaged 10.6 points per game in his first year with the program. He was a four-time ACC Rookie-of-the-Week selection, most ever by a Clemson freshman.

Clemson's all-around improvement in 2004-05 was evident in the NCAA statistical categories as well. The Tigers were the only team in the nation to rank in the top 20 in both steals and blocks per game. Clemson ranked seventh nationally with 10 steals per game and 20th nationally with 5.2 blocks per game. In fact, Clemson's 319 steals were the third-most in a single season in school history.

The 2005-06 team finished with a 19-13 overall record, the best mark at Clemson since the 1998-99 team won 20 games and the best winning percentage since the 1996-97 team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a 23-10 mark. Purnell also led the Tigers to seven ACC wins, the most conference wins produced at Clemson in eight years. He led the Tigers to their second straight berth in the postseason NIT. Clemson's win over Louisiana Tech at home was the first postseason win for the program since 1999. Also during the season, Purnell claimed his 300th win as a Division I head coach after Clemson defeated Georgia Tech 95-82 on Senior Day.

In December of 2005, Purnell guided Clemson to its first eight-team tournament championship since the 1980 Rainbow Classic. The team won on three consecutive days to capture the San Juan Shootout, including victories over Akron and Holy Cross teams that won 20 games in 2005-06. He also helped the Tigers to their first win over Wake Forest in four years and to a sweep of Georgia Tech, which had not been accomplished at Clemson since the 1996-97 season. In addition, the Tigers' 89-77 win over Maryland gave the program four straight wins over the Terrapins, a feat that had not been accomplished at Clemson since 1949-51. Another highlight win was over in-state rival South Carolina, 82-63, after Clemson pulled down 26 offensive rebounds, one of the best single-game marks in school history. It was the largest margin of defeat for the NIT Champion Gamecocks in 2005-06.

Under his leadership, Clemson was second nationally in steals per game (11.0) after establishing a school record 352. It marked the second straight year the Tigers ranked in the top 10 nationally in steals per game. Purnell coached point guard Vernon Hamilton to All-ACC Defensive Team honors after the junior led the league in steals per game and established Clemson's single-season and career records in that statistical category.

The 55-year-old native of Maryland came to Clemson with 15 seasons of experience as a Division I head coach, more than any other first-year Clemson coach in history. He now has 373 career Division I wins, and has taken teams to 13 postseason tournaments and has 11 seasons of at least 20 wins on his resumé. Nine of his last 10 seasons he has taken a team to postseason play, including the last five at Clemson.

From an honors standpoint, Purnell has been named conference Coach-of-the-Year in three different Division I conferences. In 2002-03, as the head coach at Dayton, he was named a finalist for the Naismith Award, the honor presented to the top Division I coach in the nation. No previous coach had come to Clemson with such a distinguished list of honors. He added to his list of coaching honors in 2009 when he was named District III Coach-of-the-Year by the USBWA. Purnell was also one of 10 finalists for the Henry Iba Award, presented annually to the nation's top head coach.

Prior to his career as a head coach at the Division I level, Purnell served as an assistant coach for 10 seasons at his alma mater, Old Dominion, and at the University of Maryland. Additionally, he was a coach prominently involved in the USA Basketball program for nearly 10 years. Teams he was affiliated with in the USA Basketball program as a head coach or assistant coach accumulated a 45-4 record and won five gold medals in international competition. He was an assistant coach under Larry Brown on the United States Olympic team in Greece in 2004.

Purnell has been an administrative leader in his field. He was selected to the Board of Directors at the 1998 convention for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). In 2000, he was appointed by the NABC to serve as a member of USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee. That committee is responsible for the selection of collegiate coaches and players for USA Basketball's teams. His most recent appointment is the ultimate testament to his leadership within the coaching ranks. His move up the ladder within the NABC culminated with his selection as the organization's President, a capacity he served during the 2006-07 season. He was the first Clemson coach in any sport to serve as national president of a coaches association.

His players have been successful on the court and in the classroom. In his nine years at Dayton, all but two of his four-year players graduated. His first senior class, Chris Hobbs and Beau Shay, both left Clemson with degrees. In 2004-05, Clemson guard Shawan Robinson was selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team. His three seniors in 2005-06, Akin Akingbala, Steve Allen, and Shawan Robinson, all graduated on May 12, 2006. It was the first time since May of 1991 that three Clemson men's basketball players graduated on the same day. The feat was achieved again in May of 2008 when seniors Cliff Hammonds, Matt Morris, and Sam Perry earned undergraduate degrees.

With his impressive list of accomplishments and experience, it was easy to see why Clemson Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips was impressed with Purnell and sought his interest concerning the school's vacant head basketball coach position in April of 2003. After interviewing in New Orleans at the Final Four, Purnell was named Clemson's head coach at an April 6 press conference on the Clemson campus.

As stated above, Purnell came to Clemson with 15 years of Division I head coaching experience at Radford (1988-89 through 1990-91), Old Dominion (1991-92 through 1993-94), and Dayton (1994-95 through 2002-03). His 155 victories rank third in Dayton history. He led the Flyers to at least 21 wins in each of his last four years, the first time since the late 1960s that Dayton had four straight 20-win seasons. He had 88 wins over his last four seasons with the Dayton program.

In 2002-03, Dayton had a 24-6 overall record, including a league best 14-2 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Seven of the wins were on the road, which was the by a Flyer team in 33 years. Purnell's team then won the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a 79-72 victory over Temple that clinched an NCAA automatic berth for the Flyers. It was the second time Purnell had beaten Hall of Fame coach John Chaney in 2002-03.

In his final season at Dayton, the Flyers gained a victory over then #9 Marquette, who advanced to the NCAA Final Four at season's end, and a victory over a top 20 Cincinnati team. The victory total was the most for the Dayton program since the 1966-67 team won 25 games. The season included a nine-game winning streak, the longest for the Flyer program since 1989-90, and the squad finished 16th in the final regular season poll conducted by the Associated Press. It was the first top 20 final ranking for the Dayton program since 1969.

Purnell was named the head coach at the University of Dayton on April 8, 1994, just the fourth head coach of that program since 1947. He inherited a program that had won just 17 games the previous four seasons combined. The team was ranked 209th in the Sagarin rankings in 1993-94. In his final year he had the program ranked in the top 20 of the AP poll much of the season.

In 1997-98 Purnell was named Atlantic 10 Coach-of-the-Year by the league's coaches and was the NABC District Coach-of-the-Year that same season. It was the third time he was named a conference Coach-of-the-Year, the third different conference to honor Purnell. He had been named Colonial Athletic Association Coach-of-the-Year at Old Dominion in 1993 and the Big South Conference Coach-of-the-Year while at Radford in 1991.

The list of Dayton's victims during Purnell's nine years include Notre Dame, LSU, DePaul, Marquette, Cincinnati, UCONN, Maryland, Purdue, Louisville, and Kentucky. In one week in November of 2000, he upset a 12th-ranked and defending national champion UCONN team by an 80-66 score, then stopped a sixth-ranked and eventual Final Four Maryland team by a 77-71 score. Both games were played on neutral floors.

Prior to taking the reins at Dayton, he spent three years as head coach at Old Dominion, his alma mater. He compiled 57 wins in those three years and took the program to three postseason appearances. His team won the Colonial Tournament in 1991-92 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In each of his final two seasons at Old Dominion his teams claimed the CAA regular season championship, won 21 games and advanced to the NIT. Following the 1992-93 campaign, he was honored as the CAA Coach-of-the-Year, NABC District IV Coach-of-the-Year, and the Coach-of-the-Year in the state of Virginia.

Purnell began his collegiate head-coaching career at Radford in 1988-89. In 1990-91, his third year, he led Radford to a 22-7 record, a 15-game improvement over the previous season. It was the third-largest single-season improvement in NCAA history at the time.

Purnell had experience coaching in the ACC prior to his appointment at Clemson. He was an assistant coach at Maryland from 1985-88. Maryland went to the NCAAs in his first and third years with the program. He served as an assistant coach in a full-time capacity at Old Dominion from 1978-85. The 1978-79 Old Dominion team advanced to the third round of the NIT with a double overtime victory at Clemson. All seven of the Old Dominion teams he served as a full-time assistant advanced to postseason play, three NCAAs and four NITs.

Purnell began his coaching career in the fall of 1975. He interviewed to be a graduate assistant on Bill Foster's first staff at Clemson, but decided to remain at Old Dominion in the same capacity on Paul Webb's first staff.

Purnell earned three letters and was a three-year starter as a guard at Old Dominion before he graduated with a degree in health and physical education in 1975. He earned a master's degree in physical education administration in 1978.

He was the senior co-captain and MVP of the 1975 Old Dominion team that won the Division II National Championship. He averaged 14.4 points per game. He finished his career with 1090 points and 476 assists. He still holds the school record for steals in a game with eight against Washington & Lee in 1975. He was named a Converse honorable mention All-American as a senior. That year he received the Tom Scott Award as Old Dominion's Outstanding Gentleman Student-Athlete.

A sixth-round selection of the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1975 NBA Draft, he was inducted into the Old Dominion Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. In 2006, he and Clemson assistant coach Frank Smith were both named to Old Dominion's all-time team.

In addition to his experience as a Division I college coach, Purnell also has considerable experience as a coach with USA Basketball. He is one of five USA Basketball coaches in the history of that competition to win five Gold Medals. He served as an assistant coach under Larry Brown on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, the seventh time in his career he was selected as a coach of a USA Basketball team. He coached prominent NBA players, such as Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson, in Greece in 2004 at the Olympics.

Purnell was the head coach of the 1999 USA World University Team and led the squad to an 8-0 record and the Gold Medal in Brisbane, Australia. He was the recipient of USA Basketball's 1999 Developmental Coach-of-the-Year Award for that accomplishment.

A native of Berlin, MD, Purnell was born May 19, 1953. He and his wife Vicky have two children: Olivia, who graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004 and earned a master's degree from NYU in 2007, and Lindsay, who graduated from Boston College in May of 2007 and is currently enrolled in the Wake Forest School of Law.

Oliver Purnell helped lead Team USA to a bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Click the images below to see Coach Purnell with some of the best coaches and players in the world at the 2003 Olympic Qualifying in Puerto Rico.

Press Conference Highlights: Photos | Quotes | Video

Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips presented Coach Purnell with this plaque of achievement on Jan. 3, 2004 for his role in helping Team USA qualify for the 2004 Olympics.

Oliver Purnell Quick Facts

Birth: May 19, 1953 in Berlin, MD

Family: Wife Vicky and children Olivia and Lindsay

Education: Undergrad-Old Dominion (1975) BS degree in health and physical education. Master's -Old Dominion (1978) MA in physical education and administration.

Playing Experience: Earned three letters at Old Dominion between 1972-75. Team MVA and honorable mention All-American in 1975 when he helped Old Dominion to NCAA Division II National Championship.

Assistant Coaching Experience: Graduate assistant at Old Dominion (1975-77); Assistant coach at Old Dominion (1978-85); assistant coach at Maryland (1985-88).

Head Coaching Experience: Radford University (1988-91); Old Dominion (1991-94); University of Dayton (1994-2003); Clemson University (2003-present)

Head Coaching Record: 373-268 (.582), 21 years

Honors:

• MVP of National Championship Old Dominion Team, 1974-75
• Tom Scott Award (Old Dominion's Outstanding Gentleman Student-Athlete), 1974-75
• Inducted into Old Dominion Sports Hall of Fame, 1988
• Big South Coach of the Year, 1990-91
• Colonial Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, 1992-93
• NABC District Coach of the Year, 1992-93
• Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, 1997-98
• NABC District Coach of the Year, 1997-98
• USBWA District III Coach-of-the-Year, 2008-09

Hobbies: Jogging, cooking

Purnell on his appointment as an assistant coach with the 2004 United States Olympic Team:
"Words cannot express how honored I feel to be chosen to represent the United States at the highest level of international competition. It's a great honor for me personally, but also for our program and for Clemson University. I'm looking forward to helping coach (Larry) Brown in any way I can to bring back the gold medal. Working with Coach Brown, Coach (Paul) Popovich and coach (Roy) Williams will be a thrill for me and a tremendous learning experience."

7 USA Teams -- 45-4/5 gold