Kevin O’Neill

Kevin O’Neill (born January 24, 1957)

Teams coached: Marquette Golden Eagles, Tennessee Volunteers, Northwestern Wildcats, Arizona WildcatsUSC Trojans
Marquette record: 86-62 (.581)
Tennessee record: 36-47 (.434)
Northwestern record: 30-56 (.349)
Arizona record: 0-14 (.000) **
USC record: 48-65 (.425)
Overall record^: 200-244 (.450) **

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  3  (1993, 1994, 2011) **
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  1  (1994)
  • NCAA Tournament Final Four:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  3  (1990, 1996, 1999)
  • Great Midwest Regular Season Champion:  1  (1994)   

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2009-2013 USC
2008-2009 Memphis Grizzlies (asst)
2007-2008 Arizona (interim HC)
2004-2006 Indiana Pacers (asst)
2003-2004 Toronto Raptors
2001-2003 Detroit Pistons (asst)
2000-2001 New York Knicks (asst)
1997-2000 Northwestern
1994-1997 Tennessee
1989-1994 Marquette
1986-1989 Arizona (asst)
1985-1986 Tulsa (asst)
1983-1985 Delaware (asst)
1982-1983 Marycrest
1980-1982 North Country CC

Kevin O’Neill Facts

  • Kevin James O’Neill
  • Born January 24, 1957
  • Hometown: Chateaugay, New York
  • Alma Mater: McGill University (B.Ed., 1979) / Marycrest College (M.Ed, 1983)
  • Started his coaching career in 1979 at Hammond HS (NY), followed by positions at North Country CC (NY) and alma mater Marycrest College (IA), where he went 17-14 overall
  • Spent six years as a Division I assistant: two under Ronald Rainey at Delaware, one under J. D. Barnett at Tulsa and three at Arizona under Hall of Fame head coach Lute Olson
  • Was Marquette head coach for five seasons, winning 86 games, going to two NCAA Tournaments, one NIT and winning the 1994 Great Midwest title
    • While at Marquette, O’Neill played a role in the iconic basketball documentary Hoop Dreams (1994)
  • Spent three seasons each as the head coach at Tennessee and Northwestern, going to one NIT at each stop
  • Moved on to the NBA in 2000, working under Jeff Van Gundy (NYK) and Rick Carlisle (DET) before becoming the head coach of the Raptors in 2003
    • Went 33-49 (.402) during the 2003-04 season, his lone campaign as an NBA head coach
    • Spent the next two seasons with the Indiana Pacers assisting Carlisle
  • Returned to the college ranks in 2007, rejoining Olson‘s staff at Arizona
    • Named the interim head coach for the 2007-08 season when Olson announced an indefinite medical leave of absence
    • The Wildcats went 19-15 under O’Neill, but all 19 wins and 1 NCAA Tournament loss were later vacated by the NCAA
  • Spent one year as an assistant coach for Marc Iavaroni with the Memphis Grizzlies
  • Named the head coach at USC in June 2009, coaching the Trojans for the next three and a half seasons
    • Took the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, but went just 6-26 (1-17) the following year
    • Fired 17 games into the 2012-13 season after starting 7-10 (2-2)

Kevin O’Neill Coaching Tree

  • Gib Arnold (Hawaii)
  • Bret Brielmaier (Long Island Nets)
  • Michael Curry (Florida Atlantic, Detroit Pistons)
  • Bo Ellis (Chicago State)
  • Lawrence Frank (Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets)
  • Brian Gregory (South Florida, Georgia Tech, Dayton)
  • Tavaras Hardy (Loyola MD)
  • Cornelius Jackson (Marshall)
  • Ben Johnson (Minnesota)
  • Phil Johnson (UTEP)
  • Jesse Mermuys (Raptors 905)
  • Miles Simon (South Bay Lakers)
  • Rod Strickland (LIU)
  • Kevin Whitted (Westchester Knicks, ABA)

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only

** Listed accomplishments for this coach do not include wins or appearances later vacated by the NCAA