Jim Phelan (basketball)

Jim Phelan (born March 19, 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) was a collegiate basketball coach for Mount Saint Mary's University. Jim was a 1951 graduate of La Salle University and played one season for the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA. He was famous for wearing a bow tie on the sidelines.

Coaching career

Jim coached his entire career at Mount Saint Mary's University. He led the Mountaineers to the 1962 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. When he retired in 2003, after coaching for 49 years, he amassed 830 wins (overall record of 830-524) in over 1,300 games in all divisions. In those 49 years, 19 of his teams amassed 20 or more wins in a season. Prior to the announcement of his induction in April 2008, Phelan was often noted for having the most victories of any coach not in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

He got his 800th win in the NorthEast Conference Championship Game on March 1, 1999. He became just the 4th coach in NCAA history to get 800 career wins; currently he resides fourth on the all-time list behind Bob Knight, Dean Smith, and Adolph Rupp. On January 19, 1998, he became just the 2nd coach in NCAA history to coach in 1,200 career games (The other being Clarence Gaines); he holds the record in games coached with 1,354 across all NCAA divisions.

Coaching Highlights

*830 wins (4th most all time)
*1,354 games coached (most all time)
*5 Final Fours
*16 NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances
*2 NCAA Division I Tournament Appearances
*2 Championship games coached
*1962 NCAA Division II Champions
*1962 National Coach of the Year

In 2001, the Phelan fund was created as a tribute to Jim Phelan, by having his name in perpetuity associated with Mount Saint Mary's basketball program.

Prominent Players Coached

Jim is well known for some great players that he's coached. Some notable players he's coached include Fred "Mad Dog" Carter, Jack Sullivan, and Jon O'Reilly.

Many players, and some of Phelan's best teams, are featured in the book, "King of the Mount: The Jim Phelan Story." A great treatment of the famed 1980-1981 season is a highlight of the book. Phelan won national coach of the year that season, despite the lack of a transcendent player. It should be noted though that Jim Rowe, Steve Rossignoli, and Durelle Lewis are all Mount Hall of Famers and gave the Mount an unusually strong Div II team. The engimatic Jay Bruchak was the only team member drafted by the NBA (2nd round, Atlanta Hawks). And Phelan always singled out the bench as the key to the team's success, led by Dennis Dempsey and Tom Looney. Towards the end of his long coaching career Phelan named the Dempsey/Looney combo among the greatest reserves he ever coached.

Acknowledgements

*Collegeinsider.com [http://www.collegeinsider.com] , in 2003, renamed its coach of year award the "Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year" award [http://www.jimphelanaward.com/] .

*Mount Saint Mary's University has also renamed its court "Jim Phelan Court", complete with his years coached and his signature bow tie painted on each end of the court. A new banner was also revealed in the ARCC Arena (MSMU's home court) with a Phelan bow tie and signifying his 830 wins.

*The Northeast Conference Coach of the Year award is named after Jim Phelan.

*It was announced in April, 2008 that Phelan will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, MO in November, 2008. Other members of his induction class include Nolan Richardson (former coach at the University of Arkansas), Charles Barkley (former Auburn player and NBA veteran), and commentators Billy Packer and Dick Vitale. Phelan said of his induction, "It is an honor to be selected for induction. It's a great feeling to be in such a distinguished group of gentlemen."

Personal Information

Phelan and his wife, Dottie, reside near campus. They are the parents of five grown children: Jim, Lynne, Carol, Larry and Bobby. They have ten grandchildren: James, Kate and Mary Robinson; Jack, Conor and Maureen Marsh; and Kelsey, Erin, Molly and Lucas Phelan.