Title | Southwest Conference Mens Basketball |
Creator (LCNAF) |
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Publisher | Southwest Conference (U.S.) |
Date | 1994-1995 |
Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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Subject.Name (LCNAF) |
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Genre (AAT) |
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Language | English |
Type (DCMI) |
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Original Item Location | ID 2009-006, Box 7, Folder 8 |
Original Collection | Athletics Department Records |
Digital Collection | University of Houston Sports Championship Publications |
Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/champ |
Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/special-collections |
Use and Reproduction | Educational use only, no other permissions given. Copyright to this resource is held by the content creator, author, artist or other entity, and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission of the copyright owner. For more information please see UH Digital Library Fair Use policy on the UH Digital Library About page. |
File Name | index.cpd |
Title | Page 37 |
Format (IMT) |
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File Name | champ_201306_036_038.jpg |
Transcript | Owl Coaching Staff KnsklRthnll Head Coach Willis Wilson Wilson's Career 1992-93 Rice University 18-10 1993-94 Rice University 15-14 1994-95 Rice University Career Record 33-24 (.579) Rice Record 33-24 (.579) Willis Wilson (Rice University '82) Willis Wilson, a former student, athlete and assistant coach at Rice University, returned in 1992 as the school's 22nd head men's basketball coach. It was a move universally applauded, not only for the hire of one of America's bright young coaches, but as a continuation of the recent upswing of Rice basketball. The appointment brought immediate dividends. Wilson's first Rice team went 18-10, including regular-season sweeps over Texas, Houston and Texas Tech. The Owls finished the Southwest Conference race in second-place, but their late-season 90-67 win over champion SMU was the most-lopsided decision in the SWC that season. In Wilson's second season, the Owls posted a 15-14 record and advanced to the second round of the 1994 Dr Pepper SWC Classic. A four-year assistant coach at Rice under Scott Thompson, Wilson spent one year away from the university as an assistant coach under Mike Montgomery at Stanford University. As a member of Thompson's staff during the 1988-91 seasons, Wilson helped the Owls improve their SWC standing each year. During Wilson's final year with Thompson (1991), the Owls were 16-14 overall and 9- 7 in the SWC (fourth place) and received a bid to the NIT. The winning record was Rice's first in 20 years while the NIT appearance marked the first post-season action for the school in 21 years. Wilson also assisted in recruiting the players that notched a 21-11 record in 1992, Rice's first 20-win season since 1954. In 1992, Wilson assisted Stanford to an 18-11 mark and an NCAA tournament berth against Alabama. The 34-year-old Wilson is now in his 12th year at Rice and fourth separate affiliation with the University. After matriculating to the campus in August, 1978, Wilson was a four-year letterman for the Owls under Mike Schuler (1978- 81), and Tommy Suitts (1982). He co-captained the owls to a 15-15 mark in 1982 and was a teammate of current NBA star and Rice Athletic Hall of Fame member Ricky Pierce, now with the Seattle Supersonics. A 1982 graduate of Rice with a B.A. degree in political science, Wilson was a Will Rice College fellow and member of the college court during his undergraduate days. He also participated in the Rice Volunteers for Youth program. Wilson's first collegiate coaching experience came at Rice as an assistant to Suitts during the 1985-86 season. In 1986, he left Rice to become the head coach at Houston's Strake Jesuit Preparatory School before returning to Rice with Thompson one year later. Wilson also was an assistant basketball and track coach at Strake Jesuit in 1982-84. A native of Indianapolis, Ind., Wilson won all-metro Washington and all- county honors for Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md. As a junior, he led Blair to the 1977 Maryland state championship. Following his senior season, he was the most valuable player in Montgomery County, and captained the McDonald's Coaches Scholarship all-star game in the Capital Center. Marty Gross Asst. Coach 713/527-4075 Trent Johnson Asst. Coach 713/527-4075 Todd Smith Asst. Coach 713/527-4075 Autry Court 36 Southwest Conference Basketball |