Rick Samuels
Rick Samuels (born December 13, 1948)
Teams coached: Iowa State Cyclones, Eastern Illinois Panthers
Iowa State record: 3-6 (.333)
Eastern Illinois record: 360-360 (.500)
Overall record: 363-366 (.498)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1992, 2001)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- Ohio Valley Tournament Champion: 1 (2001)
- Summit League Tournament Champion: 2 (1985, 1992)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1980-2005 | Eastern Illinois |
| 1980 | Iowa State (interim HC) |
| 1976-1980 | Iowa State (asst) |
| 1975-1976 | Eastern Washington (asst) |
Rick Samuels Facts
- Rick Samuels
- Born December 13, 1948
- Hometown: Laramie, Wyoming
- Alma Mater: Chadron State College (BS, 1971) / Eastern Washington University (MS, 1975)
- Played at Chadron State College (NE), then started his coaching career at nearby Chadron HS
- Inducted into the Chadron State Athletic Hall of Fame (c/o 2005)
- Got his master’s at Eastern Washington and spent one season assisting Eagles’ head coach Jerry Krause
- Hired by Lynn Nance in 1977 to be an assistant at Iowa State, serving in that role for three and half seasons
- Was interim head coach for the final nine games of 1979-80 (went 3-6) after Nance’s firing
- Became the head coach at Eastern Illinois in 1980, a position he would hold for the next 25 years
- Went an even 360-360 during his tenure, by far the winningest coach in program history
- Led the Panthers to their first ever NCAA Tournament in 1992 and returned in 2001
- Also responsible for the (as of 2020) only three conference tournament titles in EIU history
- Coached several NBA players and had a number of future head coaches as assistants through the years
- Let go in 2005 (at the time the second longest tenure in D-I) following three losing seasons
- Inducted into the EIU Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2014
- Remained in Illinois, taking a role as a development officer at nearby Lincoln College
- Later worked as VP of Enrollment Management and now as a senior development officer
Rick Samuels Coaching Tree
- Ricky Byrdsong (Northwestern, Detroit Mercy)
- Henry Domercant (Windy City Bulls)
- Jack Owens (Miami OH)
- Matt Painter (Purdue, Southern Illinois)