Jerry Wainwright

Jerry Wainwright (born February 11, 1947)

Teams coached: UNC Wilmington Seahawks, Richmond Spiders, DePaul Blue Demons
UNC Wilmington record: 136-103 (.569)
Richmond record: 49-42 (.538)
DePaul record: 59-80 (.424)
Overall record: 244-225 (.520)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  3  (2000, 2002, 2004)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  4  (1998, 2001, 2003, 2007)
  • CAA Regular Season Champion:  3  (1997, 1998, 2002)
  • CAA Tournament Champion:  2  (2000, 2002)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2019-2020 Tulsa (asst)
2014-2018 Fresno State (assoc. HC)
2012-2014 Marquette (asst)
2011-2012 Fresno State (assoc. HC)
2005-2010 DePaul
2002-2005 Richmond
1994-2002 UNC Wilmington
1985-1994 Wake Forest (asst)
1984-1985 Xavier (asst)

Jerry Wainwright Facts

  • Gerald Charles Wainwright Jr.
  • Born February 11, 1947
  • Hometown: Berwyn, Illinois
  • Alma Mater: Colorado College (BA, 1968) / University of Denver (MA, 1971)
  • Attended J. Sterling Morton HS West (IL) and then Morton JC in Cicero, IL
    • Transferred to Colorado College in Colorado Springs, where he played basketball and got his degree
  • Returned to his home state in 1971 and became an assistant coach at West Leyden HS in Northlake, IL
  • Spent one year as head coach at Montrose HS (CO) and four as an assistant at East Leyden HS (IL)
  • Was the head coach at Highland Park (IL) in the north Chicago suburbs for five seasons
  • Joined Bob Staak‘s staff in 1984 as an assistant at Xavier, then followed him to Wake Forest a year later
    • Coached at Wake for nine seasons, four under Staak and five more under Dave Odom
    • Was part of four NCAA Tournaments with Odom, including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 1993
  • Hired in 1994 as the head coach at UNC Wilmington, leading the Seahawks for eight seasons
  • Left UNCW for Richmond in 2002, going 49-42 in three seasons with the Spiders
    • His second year (2003-04), the team went 20-13 and earned an at-large NCAAT bid
  • Returned to Chicago in 2005 to be the head coach at DePaul
    • Struggled during his tenure with the Blue Demons, finishing above .500 just once (his second year)
    • Fired in January 2010 after starting the season 7-8; went 0-18 in the Big East the year before
  • In 2011, Wainwright was hired by Rodney Terry – one of his former assistants – to be associate head coach at Fresno State
  • Left Fresno after one year and spent two years as an assistant coach for Buzz Williams at Marquette
  • When Williams left in 2014, Wainwright moved back West to rejoin Terry‘s staff at associate head coach
  • Hired in May 2019 to be an assistant at Tulsa under Frank Haith, who he previously worked with at Wake
    • Retired in the summer of 2020 following the coronavirus-shortened 2019-20 season
  • Wainwright won the 2023 Gene Bartow Award recognizing his impact on players, schools and communities throughout his career

Jerry Wainwright Coaching Tree