John Leslie Pelphrey (born July 18, 1968) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach, currently the head coach of the

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee Technological University (TTU), located in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. The TTU athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ...

. After being named Kentucky Mr. Basketball in 1987, he became a star college player at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. After his playing career ended, Pelphrey became as an assistant coach under

Eddie Sutton Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. He was then hired to serve under

Billy Donovan William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before moving to the NBA, he served as the head ...

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

and followed him to Florida. Pelphrey took his first head coaching job in 2002, when he was hired by the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

, and in 2007 he was chosen to take the head coaching position at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. After leaving Arkansas, he returned to Florida.

Playing career

Early years

John Pelphrey was born in

Paintsville, Kentucky Paintsville () is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city along Paint Creek (Johnson County, Kentucky), Paint Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, Johnson County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat, seat of its county. The ...

. He attended Paintsville High School, where he was coached by Bill Mike Runyon. He would lead the Tigers to the Sweet Sixteen in the state tournament, and make the Sweet Sixteen Fab 50. During his senior year as a Tiger (1987), the team's final record was 32–5. The team won Paintsville Invitational Championship, the Hillbrook Classic, the 57th District Championship, the 15th Region Championship, and made the

KHSAA The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky's List of high schools in Kentucky, high school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington. Sports The o ...

"Sweet Sixteen" Final Four where they lost to eventual state runner-up Louisville Ballard led by future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player

Allan Houston Allan Wade Houston Jr. (born April 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2005. A shooting guard, Houston played nine seasons for the New York Knicks; h ...

. A two-sport athlete, Pelphrey also had a passion for baseball; he played during his high school years as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

College

While a player at the

(UK) from 1988 to 1992, Pelphrey led the Wildcats to the SEC tournament championship and an NCAA tournament appearance, including the epic battle with

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

in the 1992

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

. Pelphrey was a two-time captain while at Kentucky and in 1989 was named the UK Student Athlete of the Year. During his collegiate career, Pelphrey started 90 of 114 games, and averaged 11 points per game over his career. In 2005, Pelphrey was inducted into the Kentucky Hall of Fame. During his freshman year in 1988–89, the UK program was rocked by a major scandal. One player, Eric Manuel, was found by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

to have received improper assistance on his college entrance exams. A second player, Chris Mills, received cash payments from a

booster Booster may refer to: Amusement rides * Booster (Fabbri ride), a pendulum ride * Booster (HUSS ride), an evolution of the Breakdance ride * Booster (KMG ride), a pendulum ride Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Booster, a cha ...

. The scandal led to the resignation of coach

and athletic director

Cliff Hagan Clifford Oldham Hagan (born December 9, 1931) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6′ 4″ forward who excelled with the hook shot, Hagan, nicknamed "Li’l Abner", played his entire 10-year National Basketball Association, ...

, and led to major NCAA sanctions. Pelphrey and his fellow freshmen,

Richie Farmer Richard Dwight Farmer Jr. (born August 25, 1969) is an American former collegiate basketball player and Republican Party politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served as the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture from 2004 to 2012 and ...

, Deron Feldhaus and Sean Woods, stayed with the program despite the sanctions, and entered UK lore during their senior season in 1991–92. That year, a relatively unheralded Kentucky team coached by

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

, in its first year after coming off NCAA probation, advanced all the way to the

, losing to

in the East Regional title game. This game is often considered one of the greatest in college basketball history, ending with the Blue Devils'

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegi ...

's buzzer-beating jumper in overtime, which is among the most famous finishes in a college basketball game. John was the player who was supposed to be guarding him when he made the buzzer beater. Pelphrey and the other three seniors, as undisputed team leaders who showed their loyalty to UK during some of the program's darkest hours, would forever be known by Wildcats fans as "The Unforgettables" (a name given to them by Coach Pitino). Pelphrey is one of 36 former Kentucky players to have his jersey retired (#34).

Coaching career

Oklahoma State

After leaving Kentucky, Pelphrey failed to get drafted in the NBA and spent a short time playing professional basketball in France and Spain before joining his former coach

's staff at

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

for the 1993–94 season.

Marshall

Pelphrey joined

's staff at

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

for two years and was instrumental in the resurgence of the Thundering Herd program.

Florida

In 1996, he followed Donovan from Marshall to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and coached as an assistant for six years. He helped the Gators garner a school record four straight NCAA tournament appearances from 1999 to 2002. During the 1999–2000 season, the Gators made their first-ever appearance in the national championship game against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

South Alabama

Pelphrey spent five seasons as head coach at the

, starting in 2002. In his first season there in 2002–03, Pelphrey led the Jaguars to a 14–14 record but had subsequently bad seasons the next two years, going 12–16 in 2003–04 and then 10–18 in 2004–05. In 2005–06 the Jaguars defeated

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

tournament championship game, earning USA's first NCAA tournament bid since 1998. The Jaguars lost to eventual tournament champions,

in the round of 64. In 2007, Pelphrey led the Jags to a regular season title but they fell short in the Sun Belt Conference tournament quarterfinals after losing the final four games of the regular season. This led to an NIT berth and resulted in a loss to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

in the first round 79–73, which was South Alabama's sixth straight loss to end the season. South Alabama finished the year with a 20–12 record, giving Pelphrey an overall record of 80–67 with the Jags.

Arkansas

Pelphrey was announced as the new head coach of the University of Arkansas basketball team at a press conference on Monday, April 9, 2007, in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

. Pelphrey replaced

Stan Heath Stanley Heath III (born December 17, 1964) is an American basketball coach currently serving as the head coach for Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball, Eastern Michigan. Heath formerly served as head coach at the South Florida Bulls men's b ...

, whose tenure ended with the University of Arkansas on March 26, 2007. The Razorbacks began the season ranked #19, but fell out of the top 25 after losing their third game of the season to unranked Providence. Arkansas went on to win six consecutive games to improve to 8–1, before losing to the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

. They finished the non-conference season 11–3, highlighted by wins over

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and Baylor. The Razorbacks won their first two conference games against Auburn and

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, before losing their next two to

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Pelphrey's Razorback team then responded with back-to-back home wins against two ranked opponents, defeating

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

and also

, coached by one of his mentors and dear friend,

. The Razorbacks also handed a loss to ranked Vanderbilt along the way. Arkansas finished the SEC regular season with a 9–7 record. The Razorbacks defeated Vanderbilt (then ranked 18th nationally) again in the 2008 SEC tournament. They followed this up with arguably their most significant victory of the season, a 92–91 win over #4

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in the tourney semifinals. The Razorbacks lost in the championship game to underdog Georgia, but rebounded to defeat

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

86–72 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. It was the Razorbacks' first NCAA tourney victory since 1999. The Razorbacks were eliminated by overall #1 seed

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the second round. On December 30, 2008, Pelphrey earned his biggest upset as coach of the Razorbacks up until that point by beating #4 ranked Oklahoma in

Bud Walton Arena Bud Walton Arena (also known as the Basketball Palace of Mid-America) is the home to the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball, men's and Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball, women's basketball teams of the University of Arkansas, known as the Arka ...

, 96–88. On January 6, 2009, Pelphrey followed that victory up with a huge win over one of Arkansas' archrivals from its

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

days, the #7 ranked

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

, 67–61. However, after those wins, Pelphrey's season rapidly went downhill as the Razorbacks went on to a last-place finish in the SEC West with a 2–14 record and an overall final record of 14–16. In the 2009–10 season, Pelphrey's team started off slow, losing to Morgan State, East Tennessee State and South Alabama early in non-conference play. But Arkansas regained some momentum by winning five in a row to have a 7–5 record, although the victories came against Mississippi Valley State, Delaware State, Alabama State, Stephen F. Austin and Missouri State. The Razorbacks then lost four straight, including the Southeastern Conference opener against Mississippi State. Arkansas was humbled in a 101–70 loss at Kentucky but followed with five straight SEC wins to improve to 13–11. However, the Razorbacks finished the season on another slide, losing their final five games of the regular season before falling to Georgia in the first round of the SEC tournament by a score of 77–64 to end with a six-game losing streak. The six-game slide is the longest in the history of University of Arkansas basketball to end a season with, and dropped the Razorbacks to 14–18. His fourth season saw an improvement in the overall record, getting to 18–13, but the team was unable to secure any invitation to postseason play. Despite having signed a highly regarded recruiting class, on March 13, 2011, Pelphrey was fired as head coach at the University of Arkansas. He said he felt that the university did not give him enough time to complete a turnaround of the program. His record after four seasons with the Razorbacks was 69–59.

Florida, second stint

On April 12, 2011, Pelphrey was re-hired by his former boss Billy Donovan to be an assistant at Florida. He was not retained by new Florida coach Michael White following Donovan's departure in 2015. During the 2015–16 season, he worked as an analyst on the

SEC Network SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...

Alabama

Avery Johnson Avery DeWitt Johnson (born March 25, 1965) is an American basketball television commentator, former player and coach who previously served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He is an NBA and college basketball ana ...

announced on April 7, 2016, that he had hired Pelphrey to his staff at Alabama.

Tennessee Tech

Pelphrey was announced as the program's 13th head coach on April 6, 2019.

Personal life

Pelphrey and his wife Tracy Lyon have two living children: a son, Jaxson, and a daughter, Grace Donovan. In 2003, the Pelphreys' infant son, John Patrick, died of a rare blood disorder. On June 10, 2008, Pelphrey and his wife launched the Pel's Pals Foundation as a memorial to John Patrick. His brother, Jerry, was a player and assistant coach for the East Tennessee State men's basketball team.

Head coaching record

Awards

Player

Coaching

*2006

Coach of the Year

References

External links

Career UK Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelphrey, John 1968 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Kentucky Basketball players from Kentucky College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Florida Gators men's basketball coaches Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Liga ACB players Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball coaches Paintsville High School alumni People from Paintsville, Kentucky Shooting guards Small forwards South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball coaches Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen