Hugh Durham
Encyclopedia
Hugh Durham is the first and only coach in the history of NCAA Division I basketball to lead two different schools to the NCAA Final Four for the first and only time in each school's history (Florida State University
- 1972; University of Georgia
- 1983). No other coach in either school's history has been able to duplicate Durham's achievements.
In 1972 at the age of 34, Durham led FSU to the NCAA Championship game coaching against Adolph Rupp
, Dean Smith
and John Wooden
in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games. Durham's Seminoles knocked off Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats and Smith's North Carolina Tar Heels. In the NCAA Championship game, Wooden's UCLA Bruins edged the Seminoles to win the title. Wooden, Rupp and Smith combined to win 16 NCAA Championships in their careers.
Durham is the only coach in NCAA Division I history to be the all-time winningest coach at three different Universities. His career spanned five decades at Florida State University, the University of Georgia, and Jacksonville University.
In 1966-67, Durham signed Lenny Hall who was the first African-American basketball player at Florida State University.
In 2003, Durham became only the 32nd basketball head coach in NCAA Division I history to win 600 career games.
When he retired from coaching in 2005, Durham was the eighth winningest coach among active NCAA Division I coaches with 633 victories. He had coached in 1,062 games, the third highest number of games for a head coach in NCAA Division I history. Durham was the 25th winningest coach in NCAA Division I history and had been voted conference Coach of the Year four times in the Southeastern Conference
and once in the Metro Conference
.
During his career, Durham coached nine All-Americans, four Academic All-Americans, four first round NBA draft picks including Dave Cowens
and Dominique Wilkins
, had 31 players drafted by the NBA, plus sent two players to the US Olympic basketball team, one of which was Vern Fleming
(1984).
Durham is a native of Louisville, Kentucky
.
Durham was a highly recruited three sport star at Eastern High School. He was an all-state quarterback and all-region in basketball. He chose to play basketball in college and accepted a scholarship offer from Florida State University.
Durham was inducted into the Florida State University Hall of Fame in 1990, the Kentucky High School Hall of Fame in 1994, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame
in 1999, and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
in 2009.
, Durham is one of the most prolific scorers in Seminole basketball history. He appears prominently in the Florida State record book as both a player and head coach. Durham was a guard for FSU head coach Bud Kennedy.
Over fifty years after his FSU career ended, Durham's career average of 18.9 points per game is still the ninth best in school history. His 21.9 points per game in 1958-59 remains the seventh best single season average in FSU history. On January 19, 1957 Durham scored 43 points against Stetson University
. It is still the second-best single game scoring mark in school history. For his three-year varsity career, Durham scored 1,381 points. Durham played prior to college basketball adopting the three-point shot.
In 1999 Florida State renamed its Most Valuable Player award the "Hugh Durham Most Valuable Player" award in his honor.
In 1959, Durham graduated from Florida State with a B.A. in business administration. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta
Fraternity. In 1961, he earned an M.B.A. from Florida State.
Prior to the 1966-67 season, Kennedy was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died shortly thereafter. Durham was elevated to head coach at Florida State at the age of 29. He is one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA Division I basketball history.
Durham was head coach at his alma mater for 12 seasons, is the school's all-time winningest coach, led the Seminoles to the 1972 NCAA Championship game and three NCAA Tournaments.
In 1966-67 season, Durham recruited and coached the first African-American basketball player in Florida State sports history. As an assistant coach, Durham recruited Lenny Hall. Hall was a native of Camden, NJ, who was playing for St. Petersburg Junior College. Both Bud Kennedy and Durham signed Hall. However, Kennedy died before Hall played his first game at FSU. As a 29 year old first year head coach, Durham was the subject of intense criticism.
In the 1967-68 season, only his second as head coach at FSU, Durham led the Seminoles to only their second NCAA Tournament in school history. FSU received an NCAA Tournament at-large bid as an Independent at a time when only 25 teams were invited to play in the NCAA Tournament. Future NBA Hall of Famer Dave Cowens
was a sophomore and the catalyst of the 1968 team.
In 1972, Durham led Florida State to the greatest basketball season in school history. The team went 27-6 and earned another at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles shocked the basketball world by advancing to the NCAA Championship game.
To reach the 1972 NCAA Championship game, Florida State played in the NCAA Mideast Region in Dayton, OH. Durham's talented, defensive-oriented but underrated squad was led by Ron King, Reggie Royals, Rowland Garrett
and diminutive point guard Otto Petty.
In the Mideast Region Semifinals, the Seminoles defeated Big Ten Champion, University of Minnesota
, 70-56. In the Mideast Region Finals, Florida State defeated the University of Kentucky
, 73-54. Kentucky was the SEC Champion. The game was legendary head coach Adolph Rupp's last game at Kentucky where he won four NCAA titles.
The 1972 NCAA Final Four was held in Los Angeles, CA. In the NCAA Semifinals, FSU upset the heavily favored University of North Carolina
Tar Heels, 79-75. The Tar Heels, coached by Dean Smith and led by future NBA stars Bob McAdoo and Bobby Jones were the Atlantic Coast Conference
Champions.
In the NCAA Championship game, FSU lost to UCLA, 81-76. The Bruins were led by future NBA stars Bill Walton
and Henry Bibby
. It was UCLA's closest championship game during UCLA's remarkable stretch of 10 NCAA championships under legendary Head Coach John Wooden.
Florida State was not a member of a conference for the first ten seasons Durham was head coach in Tallahasssee. In 1976-77, Florida State joined the Metro Conference
.
In 1977-78, only their second in the Metro, Durham led the Seminoles to the Conference title. As a result, FSU was one of 32 teams to earn a 1978 NCAA Tournament bid. It was Florida State's third trip the NCAA Tournament under Durham. Durham was also named Metro Conference Coach of the Year.
After the 1977-78 season, Durham was lured away from FSU to become the head coach at the University of Georgia. His overall record at FSU was 230-95 (.708). Over thirty years later, his .708 winning percentage is still the highest in Florida State history.
Durham remains the only coach to ever lead Florida State to the NCAA Final Four
.
.
Before Durham arrived in Athens, Georgia had never been to either the NCAA or NIT Tournaments, never won an SEC regular season title and never won an SEC Tournament championship.
Durham immediately embarked on a remarkable transformation project that produced the most prolific era of Georgia basketball still to this date.
Durham's efforts produced virtual overnight success as from 1981 to 1991, he led Georgia to five NCAA Tournaments, four NIT
Tournaments, the 1983 NCAA Final Four, the 1982 NIT Final Four, the 1983 SEC Tournament Championship and the 1990 SEC Championship. In that same span, Durham was named SEC Coach of the Year four times.
In 1980-81, only his third season at Georgia, Durham was voted his first of four SEC Coach of the Year awards. That season, Durham led Georgia to the school's first ever post-season tournament as the Bulldogs received an NIT bid. UGA also reached the 1981 SEC Tournament Championship Game behind the electric play of Dominique Wilkins, Terry Fair, Vern Fleming and James Banks.
In 1981-82, the Bulldogs advanced to the NIT Final Four by defeating Temple, Maryland and Virginia Tech. The Bulldogs lost to Purdue, 61-60, in the NIT Semifinals at Madison Square Garden
in New York. Again, Wilkins, Fair, Fleming, and Banks led the Bulldogs.
In 1982-83, Durham led the Bulldogs to without question the greatest single season in Georgia basketball history. The Bulldogs won the school's first ever SEC Tournament championship.
As a result of the title, Georgia earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history on the way to a 24-10 record.
Durham again shocked the basketball world by leading the Bulldogs to the 1983 NCAA Final Four. Georgia became one of the few teams since the NCAA Tournament began in 1939 to reach the NCAA Final Four in its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
To reach the 1983 NCAA Final Four, Georgia played in the NCAA East Region in Syracuse, NY. This Georgia squad was another of Durham's patented formula of talent, intensity and defensive focus. As with his 1972 FSU team, Durham's squad was given little chance in the Tournament. The starters were Vern Fleming
, Terry Fair, James Banks, Lamar Heard and Gerald Crosby with Richard Corhen, Donald Hartry, Derrick Floyd and Horace McMillan coming off the bench.
In the East Region Semifinals, Georgia upset the Big East Champion and #3 ranked St. John's University, 70-67. The Redmen were coached by Lou Carnesecca
and led by Chris Mullin
and Bill Wennington
. In the East Region Finals, the Bulldogs upset defending NCAA champion North Carolina, 82-77. UNC, the champion of the ACC, was led by Michael Jordan
, Sam Perkins
and Brad Daugherty. UNC was coached by Dean Smith.
The 1983 NCAA Final Four was in Albuquerque, NM. The Bulldogs lost in the NCAA Semifinals to eventual champion North Carolina State, 67-60. The Wolfpack was coached by the late Jim Valvano
and led by Derrick Wittenberg, Sidney Lowe
, Thurl Bailey
, and Lorenzo Charles
.
In 1984-85, the Bulldogs returned to the NCAA Tournament finishing the season with a 22-9 record. In another milestone for Durham, Georgia defeated Kentucky in Lexington, 79-77. It was the first win for Georgia over Kentucky in Lexington since 1923. The Bulldogs were led by Joe Ward, Cedric Henderson, Gerald Crosby, Donald Hartry, Horace McMillan, and Richard Corhen.
In 1985-86, Durham was again named SEC Coach of the Year. In 1986-87, Durham was voted SEC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year as Georgia earned its third NCAA Touranment bid in five seasons behind the play of Willie Anderson
, Chad Kessler, Derrick Kirce, Eric Burdette, Dennis Williams, and Patrick Hamilton.
In 1989-90, Durham led Georgia to the school's first ever SEC regular season Championship and another trip to the NCAA Tournament. Georgia outlasted LSU and Shaquille O'Neal
to clinch the SEC title in a heart pounding game in Athens that was nationally televised. Durham was voted SEC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in ten seasons. The 20-9 Bulldogs were led by the late Alec Kessler
, Litterial Green
, Marshall Wilson, Antonio Harvey, and Neville Austin.
In 1990-91, Georgia advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in nine seasons behind the play of Litterial Green, Rod Cole, Jody Patton, Marshall Wilson, Antonio Harvey, and Neville Austin. In 1994-95, Durham finished his career at Georgia by leading the Bulldogs to their 12th post-season tournament appearance in his 17 seasons as head coach. He is the winningest coach in Georgia history with a record of 297-215.
Durham remains the only coach to ever lead Georgia to the NCAA Final Four.
. JU is a private school in Jacksonville, FL, with an enrollment of less than 3,500 students.
In 1970, the Dolphins led by Artis Gilmore
reached the NCAA Championship game before losing to UCLA. JU went to five NCAA Tournaments between 1970 and 1986. However, the program had since fallen on hard times.
Once again, Durham engineered a remarkable turnaround. The Dolphins quickly went from the doormat of the Atlantic Sun Conference
to one of the top programs in the league. Durham's signature rugged defense set the tone.
Over his last five seasons, Jacksonville won 78 games, averaged 10 conference wins a season, and held opponents to an average of only 69.5 points per game. In that span, JU was 49-19 at home.
In 2000, Durham was named athletic director in addition to his basketball head coaching duties. He served in the dual roles from 2000 through 2004.
He coached at Jacksonville for eight seasons, retiring in 2005 as the winningest coach in Jacksonville history with 106 victories. His record at JU was 106-119.
To honor Durham's achievements building successful basketball programs over five decades, the "Hugh Durham Coach of the Year" award goes to the top NCAA Division I mid-major coach at the conclusion of the each season.
Durham is the only coach in the history of NCAA Division I basketball to lead two different schools to their first and only NCAA Final Four appearance in each school's basketball history. (Florida State - 1972 & Georgia - 1983).
Durham is one of only 11 NCAA Division I coaches to take two different teams to the NCAA Final Four.
Durham's career totals as an NCAA Division I head coach were 633 wins, eight NCAA tournament appearances, two NCAA Final Fours, seven NIT bids, one NIT Final Four, two SEC championships, one Metro Conference Championship, four SEC Coach of the Year awards and one Metro Conference Coach of the Year award.
Durham coached nine All-Americans, four Academic All-Americans, four first-round NBA draft picks and a pair of Olympians. Fifteen of his former players went on to play in the NBA and he had 31 players selected in the NBA draft.
Durham's first recruiting class at Florida State in 1966 contained Dave Cowens
. After a prolific career at FSU, Cowens was drafted by the Boston Celtics
. He was named NBA co-Rookie of the Year in 1971, 1973 NBA MVP, and led the Celtics to two NBA titles. Cowens is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and was also voted one of the NBA's 50 all-time greatest players in 1996.
Durham's first recruiting class at Georgia after the 1978-79 season included Dominique Wilkins
. Wilkins played three seasons at UGA and went on to be one of the top 10 scorers in NBA history. While playing for the Atlanta Hawks
, Wilkins was voted to the NBA All-Star game nine times and won the NBA Slam Dunk contest twice. He is also a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Other career notes as of the time of Durham's retirement in 2005:
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
- 1972; University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
- 1983). No other coach in either school's history has been able to duplicate Durham's achievements.
In 1972 at the age of 34, Durham led FSU to the NCAA Championship game coaching against Adolph Rupp
Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
, Dean Smith
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
and John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games. Durham's Seminoles knocked off Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats and Smith's North Carolina Tar Heels. In the NCAA Championship game, Wooden's UCLA Bruins edged the Seminoles to win the title. Wooden, Rupp and Smith combined to win 16 NCAA Championships in their careers.
Durham is the only coach in NCAA Division I history to be the all-time winningest coach at three different Universities. His career spanned five decades at Florida State University, the University of Georgia, and Jacksonville University.
In 1966-67, Durham signed Lenny Hall who was the first African-American basketball player at Florida State University.
In 2003, Durham became only the 32nd basketball head coach in NCAA Division I history to win 600 career games.
When he retired from coaching in 2005, Durham was the eighth winningest coach among active NCAA Division I coaches with 633 victories. He had coached in 1,062 games, the third highest number of games for a head coach in NCAA Division I history. Durham was the 25th winningest coach in NCAA Division I history and had been voted conference Coach of the Year four times in the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
and once in the Metro Conference
Metro Conference
The Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because all of its charter members were in urban metropolitan areas in, or at least on the fringes of, the Southern United States...
.
During his career, Durham coached nine All-Americans, four Academic All-Americans, four first round NBA draft picks including Dave Cowens
Dave Cowens
David William Cowens is a retired American professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6'9", he played the center and occasionally the power forward position. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991...
and Dominique Wilkins
Dominique Wilkins
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA...
, had 31 players drafted by the NBA, plus sent two players to the US Olympic basketball team, one of which was Vern Fleming
Vern Fleming
Vern Fleming is a former professional basketball player in the NBA who played twelve seasons from 1984 until 1996...
(1984).
Durham is a native of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
Durham was a highly recruited three sport star at Eastern High School. He was an all-state quarterback and all-region in basketball. He chose to play basketball in college and accepted a scholarship offer from Florida State University.
Durham was inducted into the Florida State University Hall of Fame in 1990, the Kentucky High School Hall of Fame in 1994, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
The Florida Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honoring athletes with outstanding achievement in sports in Florida. It has expanded its goals to include encouraging physical fitness among Florida's citizens through the example of its honorees.The FSHOF was founded by the Florida...
in 1999, and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in America at .-Exhibitions:The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Inductees, High School, collegiate sports, Olympic, Paralympic,...
in 2009.
College career
At Florida State UniversityFlorida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, Durham is one of the most prolific scorers in Seminole basketball history. He appears prominently in the Florida State record book as both a player and head coach. Durham was a guard for FSU head coach Bud Kennedy.
Over fifty years after his FSU career ended, Durham's career average of 18.9 points per game is still the ninth best in school history. His 21.9 points per game in 1958-59 remains the seventh best single season average in FSU history. On January 19, 1957 Durham scored 43 points against Stetson University
Stetson University
Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I-4 corridor in Central Florida. The primary undergraduate campus is located in DeLand, Florida, USA. In the 2012 U.S...
. It is still the second-best single game scoring mark in school history. For his three-year varsity career, Durham scored 1,381 points. Durham played prior to college basketball adopting the three-point shot.
In 1999 Florida State renamed its Most Valuable Player award the "Hugh Durham Most Valuable Player" award in his honor.
In 1959, Durham graduated from Florida State with a B.A. in business administration. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
Fraternity. In 1961, he earned an M.B.A. from Florida State.
Florida State Seminoles
After Durham received his undergraduate degree from Florida State in 1959, FSU head coach Bud Kennedy hired him as an assistant coach. Durham served as Kennedy's assistant for seven seasons.Prior to the 1966-67 season, Kennedy was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died shortly thereafter. Durham was elevated to head coach at Florida State at the age of 29. He is one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA Division I basketball history.
Durham was head coach at his alma mater for 12 seasons, is the school's all-time winningest coach, led the Seminoles to the 1972 NCAA Championship game and three NCAA Tournaments.
In 1966-67 season, Durham recruited and coached the first African-American basketball player in Florida State sports history. As an assistant coach, Durham recruited Lenny Hall. Hall was a native of Camden, NJ, who was playing for St. Petersburg Junior College. Both Bud Kennedy and Durham signed Hall. However, Kennedy died before Hall played his first game at FSU. As a 29 year old first year head coach, Durham was the subject of intense criticism.
In the 1967-68 season, only his second as head coach at FSU, Durham led the Seminoles to only their second NCAA Tournament in school history. FSU received an NCAA Tournament at-large bid as an Independent at a time when only 25 teams were invited to play in the NCAA Tournament. Future NBA Hall of Famer Dave Cowens
Dave Cowens
David William Cowens is a retired American professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6'9", he played the center and occasionally the power forward position. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991...
was a sophomore and the catalyst of the 1968 team.
In 1972, Durham led Florida State to the greatest basketball season in school history. The team went 27-6 and earned another at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles shocked the basketball world by advancing to the NCAA Championship game.
To reach the 1972 NCAA Championship game, Florida State played in the NCAA Mideast Region in Dayton, OH. Durham's talented, defensive-oriented but underrated squad was led by Ron King, Reggie Royals, Rowland Garrett
Rowland Garrett
Rowland G. Garrett is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'6" forward from Canton, Mississippi, Garrett played at Florida State University, and helped lead the Seminoles to the 1972 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, where the team lost to UCLA 81-76...
and diminutive point guard Otto Petty.
In the Mideast Region Semifinals, the Seminoles defeated Big Ten Champion, University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, 70-56. In the Mideast Region Finals, Florida State defeated the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, 73-54. Kentucky was the SEC Champion. The game was legendary head coach Adolph Rupp's last game at Kentucky where he won four NCAA titles.
The 1972 NCAA Final Four was held in Los Angeles, CA. In the NCAA Semifinals, FSU upset the heavily favored University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
Tar Heels, 79-75. The Tar Heels, coached by Dean Smith and led by future NBA stars Bob McAdoo and Bobby Jones were the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
Champions.
In the NCAA Championship game, FSU lost to UCLA, 81-76. The Bruins were led by future NBA stars Bill Walton
Bill Walton
William Theodore "Bill" Walton III is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while...
and Henry Bibby
Henry Bibby
Charles Henry Bibby is a former professional basketball player who became a coach after his playing days were over.- Playing career :...
. It was UCLA's closest championship game during UCLA's remarkable stretch of 10 NCAA championships under legendary Head Coach John Wooden.
Florida State was not a member of a conference for the first ten seasons Durham was head coach in Tallahasssee. In 1976-77, Florida State joined the Metro Conference
Metro Conference
The Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because all of its charter members were in urban metropolitan areas in, or at least on the fringes of, the Southern United States...
.
In 1977-78, only their second in the Metro, Durham led the Seminoles to the Conference title. As a result, FSU was one of 32 teams to earn a 1978 NCAA Tournament bid. It was Florida State's third trip the NCAA Tournament under Durham. Durham was also named Metro Conference Coach of the Year.
After the 1977-78 season, Durham was lured away from FSU to become the head coach at the University of Georgia. His overall record at FSU was 230-95 (.708). Over thirty years later, his .708 winning percentage is still the highest in Florida State history.
Durham remains the only coach to ever lead Florida State to the NCAA Final Four
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
.
Georgia Bulldogs
Prior to the 1978-79 season, Durham was named head coach at the University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
.
Before Durham arrived in Athens, Georgia had never been to either the NCAA or NIT Tournaments, never won an SEC regular season title and never won an SEC Tournament championship.
Durham immediately embarked on a remarkable transformation project that produced the most prolific era of Georgia basketball still to this date.
Durham's efforts produced virtual overnight success as from 1981 to 1991, he led Georgia to five NCAA Tournaments, four NIT
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
Tournaments, the 1983 NCAA Final Four, the 1982 NIT Final Four, the 1983 SEC Tournament Championship and the 1990 SEC Championship. In that same span, Durham was named SEC Coach of the Year four times.
In 1980-81, only his third season at Georgia, Durham was voted his first of four SEC Coach of the Year awards. That season, Durham led Georgia to the school's first ever post-season tournament as the Bulldogs received an NIT bid. UGA also reached the 1981 SEC Tournament Championship Game behind the electric play of Dominique Wilkins, Terry Fair, Vern Fleming and James Banks.
In 1981-82, the Bulldogs advanced to the NIT Final Four by defeating Temple, Maryland and Virginia Tech. The Bulldogs lost to Purdue, 61-60, in the NIT Semifinals at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York. Again, Wilkins, Fair, Fleming, and Banks led the Bulldogs.
In 1982-83, Durham led the Bulldogs to without question the greatest single season in Georgia basketball history. The Bulldogs won the school's first ever SEC Tournament championship.
As a result of the title, Georgia earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history on the way to a 24-10 record.
Durham again shocked the basketball world by leading the Bulldogs to the 1983 NCAA Final Four. Georgia became one of the few teams since the NCAA Tournament began in 1939 to reach the NCAA Final Four in its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
To reach the 1983 NCAA Final Four, Georgia played in the NCAA East Region in Syracuse, NY. This Georgia squad was another of Durham's patented formula of talent, intensity and defensive focus. As with his 1972 FSU team, Durham's squad was given little chance in the Tournament. The starters were Vern Fleming
Vern Fleming
Vern Fleming is a former professional basketball player in the NBA who played twelve seasons from 1984 until 1996...
, Terry Fair, James Banks, Lamar Heard and Gerald Crosby with Richard Corhen, Donald Hartry, Derrick Floyd and Horace McMillan coming off the bench.
In the East Region Semifinals, Georgia upset the Big East Champion and #3 ranked St. John's University, 70-67. The Redmen were coached by Lou Carnesecca
Lou Carnesecca
Luigi P. "Lou" Carnesecca is a retired American college basketball coach at St. John's University. He coached the men's basketball program to 526 wins and 200 losses over 24 seasons...
and led by Chris Mullin
Chris Mullin (basketball)
Christopher Paul Mullin is a retired American basketball player and former general manager of the NBA's Golden State Warriors. He has also been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame....
and Bill Wennington
Bill Wennington
William Percey Wennington is a retired Canadian basketball player in the National Basketball Association who won three NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. A center, he was also a member of two Canadian Olympic Basketball Teams and the 1983 World University Games team that won gold against...
. In the East Region Finals, the Bulldogs upset defending NCAA champion North Carolina, 82-77. UNC, the champion of the ACC, was led by Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
, Sam Perkins
Sam Perkins
Samuel Perkins is a retired American professional basketball player, also known by the nicknames "Sleepy Sam" and "Big Smooth." He attended Samuel J. Tilden High School, Shaker High School and the University of North Carolina, where he was a teammate of Michael Jordan...
and Brad Daugherty. UNC was coached by Dean Smith.
The 1983 NCAA Final Four was in Albuquerque, NM. The Bulldogs lost in the NCAA Semifinals to eventual champion North Carolina State, 67-60. The Wolfpack was coached by the late Jim Valvano
Jim Valvano
James Thomas Anthony "Jim" Valvano , nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball coach.While the head basketball coach at North Carolina State University, he won the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament against high odds...
and led by Derrick Wittenberg, Sidney Lowe
Sidney Lowe
Sidney Rochell Lowe is an American basketball coach and is currently an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz. He is a former NBA player and head coach, and has served as the head coach at North Carolina State University,.-Biography:Lowe began his career at DeMatha Catholic High School in...
, Thurl Bailey
Thurl Bailey
Thurl Lee Bailey is an American retired professional basketball player in the NBA whose career spanned from 1983 to 1999 with the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves.- Basketball career :...
, and Lorenzo Charles
Lorenzo Charles
Lorenzo Emile "Lo" Charles was an American college and professional basketball player.Charles was a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School...
.
In 1984-85, the Bulldogs returned to the NCAA Tournament finishing the season with a 22-9 record. In another milestone for Durham, Georgia defeated Kentucky in Lexington, 79-77. It was the first win for Georgia over Kentucky in Lexington since 1923. The Bulldogs were led by Joe Ward, Cedric Henderson, Gerald Crosby, Donald Hartry, Horace McMillan, and Richard Corhen.
In 1985-86, Durham was again named SEC Coach of the Year. In 1986-87, Durham was voted SEC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year as Georgia earned its third NCAA Touranment bid in five seasons behind the play of Willie Anderson
Willie Anderson (basketball)
Willie Lloyd Anderson, Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association....
, Chad Kessler, Derrick Kirce, Eric Burdette, Dennis Williams, and Patrick Hamilton.
In 1989-90, Durham led Georgia to the school's first ever SEC regular season Championship and another trip to the NCAA Tournament. Georgia outlasted LSU and Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
to clinch the SEC title in a heart pounding game in Athens that was nationally televised. Durham was voted SEC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in ten seasons. The 20-9 Bulldogs were led by the late Alec Kessler
Alec Kessler
Alec Christopher Kessler was an American college basketball player for the University of Georgia and later, as a professional, for the Miami Heat in the NBA...
, Litterial Green
Litterial Green
Litterial Maurice Green is a former American professional basketball player, in the point guard position.Green played college basketball at the University of Georgia, where he became their all-time leading scorer...
, Marshall Wilson, Antonio Harvey, and Neville Austin.
In 1990-91, Georgia advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in nine seasons behind the play of Litterial Green, Rod Cole, Jody Patton, Marshall Wilson, Antonio Harvey, and Neville Austin. In 1994-95, Durham finished his career at Georgia by leading the Bulldogs to their 12th post-season tournament appearance in his 17 seasons as head coach. He is the winningest coach in Georgia history with a record of 297-215.
Durham remains the only coach to ever lead Georgia to the NCAA Final Four.
Jacksonville Dolphins
In 1997 Durham came out of retirement at the age of 60 to try to help rebuild the struggling basketball program at Jacksonville UniversityJacksonville University
Jacksonville University is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, on the banks of the St. Johns River. The school was founded in 1934 as a two year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until 1958, when it shifted its focus to four-year university degrees and adopted its...
. JU is a private school in Jacksonville, FL, with an enrollment of less than 3,500 students.
In 1970, the Dolphins led by Artis Gilmore
Artis Gilmore
Artis Gilmore is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association...
reached the NCAA Championship game before losing to UCLA. JU went to five NCAA Tournaments between 1970 and 1986. However, the program had since fallen on hard times.
Once again, Durham engineered a remarkable turnaround. The Dolphins quickly went from the doormat of the Atlantic Sun Conference
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
to one of the top programs in the league. Durham's signature rugged defense set the tone.
Over his last five seasons, Jacksonville won 78 games, averaged 10 conference wins a season, and held opponents to an average of only 69.5 points per game. In that span, JU was 49-19 at home.
In 2000, Durham was named athletic director in addition to his basketball head coaching duties. He served in the dual roles from 2000 through 2004.
He coached at Jacksonville for eight seasons, retiring in 2005 as the winningest coach in Jacksonville history with 106 victories. His record at JU was 106-119.
Head coaching record
Legacy
In 1999, to honor Durham's contributions to Florida State University basketball as a player and head coach, FSU renamed its Most Valuable Player award the "Hugh Durham Most Valuable Player" award.To honor Durham's achievements building successful basketball programs over five decades, the "Hugh Durham Coach of the Year" award goes to the top NCAA Division I mid-major coach at the conclusion of the each season.
Durham is the only coach in the history of NCAA Division I basketball to lead two different schools to their first and only NCAA Final Four appearance in each school's basketball history. (Florida State - 1972 & Georgia - 1983).
Durham is one of only 11 NCAA Division I coaches to take two different teams to the NCAA Final Four.
Durham's career totals as an NCAA Division I head coach were 633 wins, eight NCAA tournament appearances, two NCAA Final Fours, seven NIT bids, one NIT Final Four, two SEC championships, one Metro Conference Championship, four SEC Coach of the Year awards and one Metro Conference Coach of the Year award.
Durham coached nine All-Americans, four Academic All-Americans, four first-round NBA draft picks and a pair of Olympians. Fifteen of his former players went on to play in the NBA and he had 31 players selected in the NBA draft.
Durham's first recruiting class at Florida State in 1966 contained Dave Cowens
Dave Cowens
David William Cowens is a retired American professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6'9", he played the center and occasionally the power forward position. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991...
. After a prolific career at FSU, Cowens was drafted by the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
. He was named NBA co-Rookie of the Year in 1971, 1973 NBA MVP, and led the Celtics to two NBA titles. Cowens is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and was also voted one of the NBA's 50 all-time greatest players in 1996.
Durham's first recruiting class at Georgia after the 1978-79 season included Dominique Wilkins
Dominique Wilkins
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA...
. Wilkins played three seasons at UGA and went on to be one of the top 10 scorers in NBA history. While playing for the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
, Wilkins was voted to the NBA All-Star game nine times and won the NBA Slam Dunk contest twice. He is also a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Other career notes as of the time of Durham's retirement in 2005:
- Durham was one of just eight coaches to win 200 games at two Division I schools. The others were Ralph MillerRalph MillerRalph H. Miller was an American basketball coach. A native of Chanute, Kansas, Miller coached at the University of Wichita , the University of Iowa and Oregon State University , compiling a 657-382 overall record in 38 seasons combined...
(Oregon State & Wichita State); Norm SloanNorm SloanNorman Sloan , nicknamed "Stormin' Norman," was an American college basketball player and coach. Sloan played college basketball for North Carolina State University, and thereafter, he was the men's basketball head coach for Presbyterian College, The Citadel, the University of Florida and North...
(Florida & NC State); Jim CalhounJim CalhounJames A. Calhoun is the head coach of the University of Connecticut's men's basketball team. His teams have won three national championships , played in four Final Fours , won the 1988 NIT championship, and have won seven Big East tournament championships...
(Northeastern & UConn); Lou HensonLou HensonLou Henson is a former college basketball coach. He retired as the all time leader in victories at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with 423 victories and New Mexico State with 289 victories...
(New Mexico State & Illinois); Neil McCarthyNeil McCarthy (basketball coach)Neil McCarthy is a retired college basketball coach. He was head coach of the Weber State Wildcats team from 1974 to 1985 and at the New Mexico State Aggies from 1985 to 1997....
(Weber State & New Mexico State); Johnny OrrJohnny OrrJohn M. "Johnny" Orr is a retired American basketball player and coach, best known as the head coach of men's basketball at the University of Michigan and at Iowa State University.-Life as a player:...
(Michigan & Iowa State) and Eddie SuttonEddie SuttonEddie Sutton is an American former college head coach with 36 years of Division I basketball coaching experience at Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State , and the University of San Francisco...
(Arkansas & Oklahoma State).
- Durham was one of seven coaches with 100 or more wins at three different Division I schools. (The others were Tom DavisTom Davis (basketball)Dr. Thomas "Dr. Tom" Davis is an American former college men's basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College, Boston College, Stanford University, the University of Iowa, and Drake University from 1971 to 2007....
, Cliff EllisCliff EllisCliff Ellis is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach at Coastal Carolina University. Going into the 2011–2012 season, Coach Ellis's 614 victories rank him 50th on the list of all-time career coaching victories in Division 1 basketball...
, Mike JarvisMike JarvisMike Jarvis is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University. He has coached at Boston University, George Washington University and St. John's University. He also has worked as a commentator for college basketball games on ESPN...
, Frank McGuireFrank McGuireFrank Joseph McGuire was an American athletic coach who gained his greatest renown in collegiate basketball....
, Jerry TarkanianJerry TarkanianJerry Tarkanian , also known as "Tark the Shark", is a retired college basketball coach known as one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history...
and Butch van Breda Kolff.)
See also
- List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins
- List of NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coach