Charleston, S.C. -- John Kresse, the College of Charleston men's
basketball coach for the past 23 seasons, announced his retirement on
Tuesday after 38 years of coaching on the high school, collegiate and
professional levels signaling an end to the most successful era in College
of Charleston basketball history.
Kresse, who signed a 10-year contract in 1994, will serve as
Special Assistant to the President for Athletics for the remaining two
years of his term. The announcement was made by College of Charleston
President Lee Higdon at a press conference held at Alumni Hall on the
school's campus.
Kresse, who became the Cougars' 13th head coach on March 13, 1979,
retires with a record of 560-143 and the second highest winning percentage
among active coaches (.797). He led Charleston to the nation's second best
winning percentage over the past nine seasons (.821, 220-48). His teams won
at least 21 games the past nine years, and 18 times in 23 years overall.
Charleston averaged 24 wins per season during his tenure.
Kresse coached the Cougars to a 21-9 record this year and a share
of their fourth consecutive Southern Conference South Division title.
Charleston won the State Farm Good Neighbor Classic and Tournament of
Champions in December with victories over North Carolina and Georgia State.
Kresse, 58, led Charleston to a 22-7 overall and a 12-4 league
record in 2000-01. Jody Lumpkin, who was a two-time first team Verizon
Academic All-America, was selected as the Southern Conference's Player of
the Year. CofC won their third straight SoCon South Division title, the
State Farm Good Neighbor Classic, and finished third at the Hawaii Pacific
Classic and placed second at the Tournament of Champions in Charlotte.
In 1999-00 Kresse engineered his squad - which included nine
freshmen, two sophomores and three juniors - to a 24-6 record, the Southern
Conference's South Division title, the State Farm Good Neighbor Classic
championship, and an overall league record of 15-4 including the
tournament. It marked the seventh straight season of at least 23 wins for
the Cougars.
In 1998-99 Kresse led eight seniors to an incredible 28-3 record
and an AP ranking of 16th. He led the Cougars to a perfect 19-0 Southern
Conference record and the league title in the school's first season of
SoCon competition. For his accomplishments Kresse was named the SoCon's
Coach of the Year, while forward Sedric Webber was tabbed the league's MVP.
In 1997-98 he took a squad that lost four starters, and most of its
scoring output, and still posted a 24-6 record. The Cougars won their
fifth straight TAAC title (14-2), second straight conference tournament
crown and played eventual Final Four participant Stanford in the NCAA
Midwest Region in Chicago.
His 1996-97 squad posted a spectacular 29-3 record. Charleston
cracked the top 25 in both the Associated Press and CNN/USA Today Coaches
polls. The Cougars finished ranked 16th in the AP and 21st in the USA
Today. They finished second in the Carrs Great Alaska Shootout with wins
over 21st-ranked Stanford and Arizona State. Charleston went undefeated in
TAAC play, won their fourth straight conference crown and defeated
22nd-ranked Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Memphis.
For his efforts, Kresse was named the TAAC Coach of the Year for the second
time.
The success continued in 1995-96 as Charleston rolled to its third
straight TAAC title, a 25-4 record and postseason play for the third
consecutive year. The Cougars defeated Tennessee in the opening round of
the NIT, 55-49. In 1994-95, the Cougars finished with a 23-6 record, won
the Trans America Athletic Conference title, owned the nation's longest
winning streak at 16 games and earned a bid to the NIT.
The Cougars did the unthinkable in 1993-94. In just their third
season of NCAA status they earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament
with wins over Alabama, Penn State, UNC Charlotte and a 24-4 record. The
Cougars finished 14-2 in the first season of TAAC competition and owned the
nation's longest winning streak at 16 games.
In 1992-93 the Cougars enjoyed their third 19-8 campaign in the
past four seasons. The Cougars stunned the college basketball world when
they defeated 8th-ranked Georgia Tech, 84-67, at the "Thriller Dome."
In their first full season of NCAA status the Cougars opened the
year with a 68-54 upset of Metro Conference member Charlotte on the road.
The Cougars finished with a 19-8 mark.
For the only time under Kresse the Cougars failed to win at least
17 games when they ended 1990-91 with a 15-12 record. The Cougars left the
NAIA ranks and posted a 19-8 record in 1989-90, the Cougars' first of two
seasons of their NCAA compliance period.
Kresse posted the nation's best winning percentage (.820, 268-59)
during his 10 seasons in the ranks of NAIA. The Cougars won 25 or more
games in eight consecutive campaigns and made six trips to the NAIA
national tournament. The Cougars claimed the national championship in 1983
in a 57-53 win over West Virginia Wesleyan and finished third in 1988.
The Brooklyn native was raised on a diet of athletics, particularly
basketball and baseball. It was a natural, too, that he would choose St.
John's to continue his education and to play basketball, and later serve as
a long-time assistant coach. As a kid of 10, he would accompany Lou
Roethel, a St. John's player, to practice and play.
Kresse was a walk-on for St. John's basketball team his freshman
year. He earned a scholarship from legendary coach Joe Lapchick his
sophomore season. After graduation, Kresse began coaching and teaching at
Christ the King High School, and a year later, in 1965 when Lapchick
retired, Carnesecca hired Kresse as his assistant at St. John's, an
association that lasted 14 years.
After five seasons, Carnesecca was named head coach of the New York
Nets of the former American Basketball Association. Kresse went along as
assistant coach, director of player personnel and chief scout. Among the
players they brought in were University of South Carolina standout John
Roche and Rick Barry, who went on to become one of the top scorers in the
NBA. The Nets were in the playoffs in each of the three years Carnesecca
and Kresse were on the scene, and the 1971-72 team was runner-up for the
ABA title.
Carnesecca and Kresse returned to St. John's following the 1973
campaign. During his 11 years at St. John's, they posted a remarkable
231-82 (.738) record. In 1978-79 St. John's advanced to the Elite Eight of
the NCAA tournament, and had it not been for a one-point loss to
Pennsylvania, would have faced Magic Johnson and eventual national champion
Michigan State in the Final Four.
Kresse holds a bachelor of arts degree in English (1964) and a
master's degree in counselor education (1970) from St. John's. He has been
a guest lecturer at numerous basketball clinics, has had several articles
on basketball published in coaching periodicals and numerous basketball
clinics, and teamed with Rich Jablonski to publish the book Attacking Zone
Defense and The Complete Book To Man-To-Man Offenses.
He's also produced the following coaching videos: Complete Zone
Attack, Man-To-Man Set Plays, 2-2-1 3/4 Zone Press, Multiple Trapping
Defenses, Late Game Situations, and Motion and Flex Plus Offenses.
He is married to Sue Sommer-Kresse, Senior Vice President for
Institutional Advancement at CofC. They have twin sons, John and Ryan, 15
years old.
John Kresse's Coaching Highlights
* Career record of 560-143 (.797).
* His 560 wins rank 36th on the NCAA's all-time Division I list.
* His 560 wins rank 15th among active Division I coaches.
* His .797 winning percentage is 5th on the NCAA all-time list by
Division I coaches.
* Second nationally in winning percentage among active head coaches
(.797).
* Named South Carolina's Coach of the Year six times (1983, 1987,
1988, 1994, 1996, 1999).
* Named the 1994, 1997 and 1998 Trans America Coach of the Year.
* Named the 1999 Southern Conference Coach of the Year.
* Posted a 220-48 (.821) record the past nine seasons ... only Kansas
has a higher winning
percentage during that time.
* Won his 500th game in his 21st season (JimBoeheim won his 500th in
his 21st season)
... only Jerry Tarkanian (20 seasons) won his 500th game in fewer
years.
* Led CofC to two Top 25 national rankings (16th AP in 1997 and 1999)
... ranked 21st
in 1997 by CNN/USA Today.
* His 23 seasons with CofC was the sixth longest tenure among active
coaches.
* His 18 seasons of 20 or more wins tied for the 12th highest among
active coaches and
tied for 22nd all-time.
* Inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame on April
26, 2001.
* Compiled a 258-64 (.801) NCAA Division I record.
* Earned 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999 NCAA Tournament bids.
* Earned 1995 and 1996 NIT bids.
* Led Charleston to a 75-66 upset of 5th-seeded Maryland in the 1997
NCAA Tournament
... dropped a 73-69 decision to eventual champion Arizona in the
second round.
* Led Charleston to a 55-49 win at Tennessee in the opening round of the
1996 NIT.
* Won 21 or more games in 18 of his 23 seasons, including the last nine.
* In 1997, CofC became the only team in Atlantic Sun (formerly the
Trans America)
history to go 19-0.
* In 1999, CofC became the only team in SoCon history to go 19-0.
* Won nine straight league titles (5 TAAC, 1 SoCon, 4 SoCon South)
... 1999 included
a Southern Conference tournament and South Division title.
* Ranked in the top 14 in the nation in scoring defense in 10 of the
last 11 seasons ...
currently 14th after allowing 60.8 points per game.
* Owned the nation's longest winning streak of 16 games in 1994 and 1995.
* Won 20 straight games in 1996, 23 in a row in 1997 and 25 in a row
in 1987 and 1999.
* Claimed the 1983 NAIA National Championship and finished third in 1988.
* Won 25 or more games in nine consecutive seasons from 1980 to 1989.
* Appeared in the NAIA National Tournament five consecutive seasons
from 1984 to
1989 and six times in seven years overall.
* Enjoyed 23 straight winning seasons.
* Coached six Division I conference MVPs.
* Posted a 331-36 (.902) record at home and 229-107 (.682) mark away
from Kresse Arena.
* Led Charleston to a 21-2 (.913) record at the North Charleston
Coliseum.
* Had a 20-year John Kresse Arena record of 276-29 (.905) - currently
the second best
home court winning percentage according to College Basketball News
... Xavier is 26-2
(.929) in two seasons at the Cintas Center.
* Victory list:: Georgia Tech, Charlotte, Penn State, Alabama,
Alabama-Birmingham,
Tennessee, Arizona State, Stanford, Maryland, North Carolina,
UMass, TCU, Duquesne.
* Charleston was 107-0 all-time under Kresse when they scored at
least 84 points in a game.
* Charleston was 23-0 in home openers under Kresse.
John Kresse's Year-By-Year Coaching Record
Year Home Away Conf. Conf. Tour. Total
1979-80 13-2 4-9 17-11
1980-81 18-2 7-3 25-5
1981-82 16-2 9-3 25-5
1982-83 17-1 16-4 33-5
1983-84 15-3 10-4 25-7
1984-85 18-1 12-3 30-4
1985-86 14-5 12-4 26-9
1986-87 17-1 14-1 31-2
1987-88 17-1 13-4 30-5
1988-89 16-3 10-3 26-6
1989-90 10-2 9-6 19-8
1990-91 11-2 4-10 15-12
1991-92 13-1 6-7 19-8
1992-93 15-1 4-7 19-8
1993-94 13-0 11-4 14-2 (TAAC) 24-4
1994-95 11-1 12-5 15-1 (TAAC) 23-6
1995-96 14-1 11-3 15-1 (TAAC) 25-4
1996-97 16-0 13-3 16-0 (TAAC) 3-0 29-3
1997-98 16-2 8-4 14-2 (TAAC) 3-0 24-6
1998-99 14-0 14-3 16-0 (SoCon) 3-0 28-3
1999-00 15-1 9-5 13-3 (SoCon) 2-1 24-6
2000-01 13-0 9-7 12-4 (SoCon) 0-1 22-7
2001-02 9-4 12-5 9-7 (SoCon) 2-1 21-9
Totals 331-36 229-107 124-20 13-3 560-143
John Kresse's Victory Milestones
No. Date Opponent Score
1 11/19/79 Erskine 68-63
50 12/16/81 Florida Tech 92-54
100 3/19/83 West Virginia Wesleyan^ 57-53
150 2/20/85 at Coastal Carolina 63-53
200 1/31/87 USC Spartanburg 68-64
250 1/19/89 at USC Spartanburg 71-61
300 2/9/91 Augusta 71-67
350 1/20/94 Centenary 85-78
400 1/20/96 at Florida International 72-59
450 1/8/98 at Samford 50-49
500 12/29/99 Tennessee Tech 69-56
550 1/7/02 East Tennessee State 71-64
560 3/1/02 vs. East Tennessee State (1ot) 76-75
^ - NAIA National Championship game