BOB RICHEY HEAD COACH, 2016 - PRESENT
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ob Richey is in his fourth season as head coach of the Furman men’s basketball team and his 10th as part of the program. During his time at Furman, Richey, who was recently listed at No. 5 in ESPN’s “Top 40 Coaches Under 40”, has guided the Paladins to a 73-26 overall record and 41-13 mark in Southern Conference play. His .737 winning percentage ranks ninth among active Division I head coaches. The Paladins have posted back-to-back 25-win seasons and claimed four straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. Richey guided the Paladins to a 25-7 overall record and 15-3 Southern Conference mark in 2019-20 as the Paladins posted a school-record for victories for a second consecutive season. Furman finished the season at No. 74 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Rankings and No. 81 in the Pomeroy Ratings. Jordan Lyons, a College Insider Mid-Major All-American, earned first team AllSoCon honors while Clay Mounce and Noah Gurley received third team all-league accolades. Lyons finished his Furman career as the winningest player in school history with 96 victories. Under Richey’s leadership, the 2018-19 Paladins reached new heights with a school-record 25 wins, including victories over defending national 4
champion and eighth-ranked Villanova and 2018 NCAA Final Four participant Loyola Chicago. Furman finished the season with a 25-8 overall record, 13-5 league mark and earned the school's first trip to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) since 1991. Senior Matt Rafferty, who paced the country in win shares and defensive win shares, finished the season as the only player in the SoCon to rank in the top 10 in points (17.5ppg), rebounds (9.0rpg), assists (4.3apg), steals (2.5spg), blocks (1.1bpg) and field goal percentage (61.5%). The first team AllSoCon selection also ranked among the league leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) and free throw percentage (76.7%). Lyons earned third team All-SoCon honors after a standout season that included a 54-point performance and NCAA record-tying 15 threepoint baskets versus North Greenville. Forward Noah Gurley garnered SoCon All-Freshman honors. In his first season as head coach in 2017-18, Richey guided the Paladins to school record-tying 23-win season that included a then school-record 22 regular season victories. Under his leadership, Furman placed three players on All-Southern Conference teams and the 2018 senior class finished their careers with 76, now third best in school history.
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