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Ray Harper (basketball)

Ray Harper
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamJacksonville State
ConferenceC-USA
Record146–111 (.568)
Biographical details
Born (1961-10-11) October 11, 1961 (age 63)
Bremen, Kentucky, U.S.
Playing career
1980–1982Texas
1983–1985Kentucky Wesleyan
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1985–1989Kentucky Wesleyan (assistant)[1]
1989–1996Kentucky Wesleyan (assoc. HC)[1]
1996–2005Kentucky Wesleyan
2005–2008Oklahoma City
2009–2012Western Kentucky (assistant)
2012–2016Western Kentucky
2016–presentJacksonville State
Head coaching record
Overall482–221 (.686) (NCAA)
95–17 (.848) (NAIA)
Tournaments1–4 (NCAA Division I)
27–5* (NCAA Division II)
14–1 (NAIA)
2–1 (CBI)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 NCAA Division II tournament (1999, 2001)
2 NAIA Men's Division I Tournament (2007, 2008)
2 Sun Belt tournament (2012, 2013)
OVC tournament (2017)
ASUN West Division (2022)
ASUN regular season (2022)
Awards
7× Division II National Coach of the Year
ASUN Coach of the Year (2022)

Lilburn Ray Harper Jr. (born October 11, 1961)[1][2] is an American college basketball coach, currently head coach for Jacksonville State University. Previously, he was head coach at Oklahoma City University, Kentucky Wesleyan College, and Western Kentucky University. At Kentucky Wesleyan Harper compiled a 242–45 win–loss record.

He has been named the Division II National Coach of the Year seven times and won two national titles at Kentucky Wesleyan in 1999 and 2001.[3]

Harper was named interim head coach at Western Kentucky on January 6, 2012, after Ken McDonald was fired.[4] He was named permanent head coach on February 19, 2012, by then-athletic director Ross Bjork.[5] He resigned from the position on March 17, 2016, following the permanent suspension of three of his players.[6] Harper was subsequently hired at Jacksonville State on April 6, 2016,[7] where he took the 2016–17 team to the school's first NCAA appearance.

Born in Greenville, Kentucky and a native of Bremen, Kentucky, Harper played collegiately at the University of Texas[3] as a freshman and at Kentucky Wesleyan, during his sophomore-senior seasons, where he was named third team NABC All-American as a senior in 1985.

He is married to Shannon Harper,[8] a WKU alumna.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (Great Lakes Valley Conference) (1996–2005)
1996–97 Kentucky Wesleyan 21–8 14–6 5th
1997–98 Kentucky Wesleyan 30–3 17–2 1st NCAA Division II runner-up
1998–99 Kentucky Wesleyan 35–1 20–1 1st NCAA Division II champion
1999–00 Kentucky Wesleyan 31–3 18–2 1st NCAA Division II runner-up
2000–01 Kentucky Wesleyan 31–3 17–3 2nd NCAA Division II champion
2001–02 Kentucky Wesleyan 31–3 19–1 1st NCAA Division II runner-up
2002–03 Kentucky Wesleyan 31–4* 18–2* 1st* NCAA Division II runner-up*
2003–04 Kentucky Wesleyan 22–8* 14–6* 3rd* NCAA Division II first round*
2004–05 Kentucky Wesleyan 15–13 9–11 6th
Kentucky Wesleyan: 247–46* (.843) 146–34* (.811)
Oklahoma City Stars (Sooner Athletic Conference) (2005–2008)
2005–06 Oklahoma City 29–8 16–2 1st NAIA Division I runner-up
2006–07 Oklahoma City 35–2 17–1 1st NAIA Division I champions
2007–08 Oklahoma City 31–7 18–4 1st NAIA Division I champions
Oklahoma City NAIA: 95–17 (.848) 51–7 (.879)
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Sun Belt Conference) (2012–2014)
2011–12 Western Kentucky 11–8[9] 6–7[9] 3rd (East)[10] NCAA Division I Round of 64
2012–13 Western Kentucky 20–16 10–10 4th (East)[11] NCAA Division I Round of 64
2013–14 Western Kentucky 21–12 12–6 2nd
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Conference USA) (2014–2016)
2014–15 Western Kentucky 20–12 12–6 4th
2015–16 Western Kentucky 18–16 8–10 8th
Western Kentucky: 89–64 (.582) 48–39 (.552)
Jacksonville State Gamecocks (Ohio Valley Conference) (2016–2021)
2016–17 Jacksonville State 20–15 9–7 4th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2017–18 Jacksonville State 23–13 11–7 4th CBI semifinals
2018–19 Jacksonville State 24–9 15–3 2nd
2019–20 Jacksonville State 13–19 8–10 7th
2020–21 Jacksonville State 18–9 13–6 4th
Jacksonville State Gamecocks (ASUN Conference) (2021–2023)
2021–22 Jacksonville State 21–11 13–3 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2022–23 Jacksonville State 13–18 6–12 T–11th
Jacksonville State Gamecocks (Conference USA) (2023–present)
2023–24 Jacksonville State 14–18 6–10 8th
Jacksonville State: 146–112 (.568) 81–58 (.583)
Total: 482–222 (.686)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

* 20 wins and 5 losses were vacated from the 2003–04 season and for the 2002–03 season; the school had to vacate the NCAA Division II runner-up and conference regular season championship.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c "USA Basketball: Ray Harper Bio". USA Basketball. May 7, 2003. Archived from the original on December 30, 2006. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  2. ^ West, Gary P. (February 20, 2013). "King of the Hill". Kentucky Monthly. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Ray Harper Bio". Oklahoma City University. 2006. Archived from the original on March 25, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  4. ^ Western Kentucky Hilltoppers fire Ken McDonald – ESPN
  5. ^ Western Kentucky Hilltoppers remove interim tag from coach Ray Harper – ESPN
  6. ^ "WKU's Ray Harper resigns following suspension of three players after university disciplinary hearing". March 18, 2016.
  7. ^ "Gamecocks Tab Ray Harper Next Men's Basketball Head Coach". jsugamecocksports.com. Jacksonville State Gamecocks. April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ a b Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Basketball 2011–12 Schedule – Hilltoppers Home and Away – ESPN
  10. ^ Sun Belt Conference Standings – College Basketball – ESPN
  11. ^ https://admin.xosn.com/fls/5400/2012-13%20Men's%20Basketball/Game%20Notes/2013%20WKU%20NCAA%20Tournament%20Guide.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  12. ^ School plans no appeal to NCAA infractions – College Sports – ESPN
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