Russell Edwin Pennell (born November 28, 1960) is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
coach, who was last the head coach for the
University of Central Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only ...
.
Pennell was born in
Pittsburg, Kansas and graduated from Pittsburg High School. He played college basketball at the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
and at the
University of Central Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only ...
, where he was two-year starter at
point guard. Pennell later received his bachelor's and master's degrees from
Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents.
History
...
.
Biography
Assistant coach
He has been an assistant coach at Pittsburg State,
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
,
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...
, and
Arizona State
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
. Pennell coached at Arizona State from 1998 to 2004. He then ran the Arizona Premier
AAU summer league program for two seasons. During the
2007–08 season, he was a color analyst for men's basketball on the Arizona State radio network.
Head coach
On May 5, 2008, Arizona head coach
Lute Olson
Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (September 22, 1934 – August 27, 2020) was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head c ...
announced the hiring of Pennell as an assistant coach. Pennell became the interim head coach on October 24, when Olson announced his surprise retirement for medical reasons. As interim coach, Pennell has coached the Wildcats to a 19–13 record in the
regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...
(9–9 conference). Because of Arizona's mid-season success, Pennell had been rumored as a contender for the Pac-10's Coach of the Year.
Ultimately, Pennell did not win the award as Arizona slumped at the end of the regular season, but his work as Arizona's coach was enough to get Arizona into the
NCAA tournament for the 25th consecutive year. Arizona advanced past the first round, where, as a 12th seed, they upset 5th seed
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
(Arizona's first first round win since 2006) and defeated 13th seed
Cleveland State to move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005. However, Arizona suffered a crushing defeat against overall #1 seed
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
, losing 103–64. On April 7, Arizona signed
Xavier men's basketball coach
Sean Miller
Sean Edward Miller (born November 17, 1968) is an American college basketball coach who currently serves as head coach of the Xavier Musketeers. He previously was in that position from 2004 to 2009, after which he took the head coach position f ...
to a 5-year, $11-million contract, ending Pennell's tenure with the Wildcats.
On April 9, 2009, Pennell was hired as head coach of the men's basketball team at Division II
Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on c ...
, a member of the
Pacific West Conference
The Pacific West Conference (also known as the PacWest) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in California and Hawaii.
T ...
. On March 15, 2013, he resigned, replaced by
Dan Majerle
Daniel Lewis Majerle (; born September 9, 1965), also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Associat ...
.
On August 8, 2013, the
Phoenix Mercury announced the hiring of Pennell as interim head coach following the firing of
Corey Gaines
Corey Yasuto Gaines (born June 1, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played five seasons in the NBA, and was a four-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1999 and in 2001 to 2003. He was also a forme ...
.
Pennell guided the team to the
Western Conference finals. He announced after the season that he would not return as coach in 2014, and that he hoped to return to coaching in the college ranks.
On March 5, 2014, news broke that Pennell was expected to be named the next head coach of men's basketball at
Central Arkansas
Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state o ...
. On January 7, 2020 it was announced that Pennell would step down from his position. This move followed a leave of absence for personal reasons he took in December 2019.
Personal life
Pennell is married and has two children.
Head coaching record
College
WNBA
, -
, align="left" ,
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, align="left" ,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, 13, , 9, , 4, , , , , 3rd in Western , , 5, , 2, , 3, , , , Lost
Conference semifinals
, -class="sortbottom"
, align="center" colspan=2, Career
, 13, , 9, , 4, , , , , , 5, , 2, , 3, , , ,
References
External links
Grand Canyon bioArizona State bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennell, Russ
1960 births
Living people
American men's basketball players
American women's basketball coaches
Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball coaches
Arizona Wildcats men's basketball coaches
Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Kansas
Basketball players from Kansas
Central Arkansas Bears basketball coaches
Central Arkansas Bears basketball players
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball coaches
People from Pittsburg, Kansas
Phoenix Mercury coaches
Pittsburg State Gorillas men's basketball coaches
Point guards