Purnell Joins Exclusive Coaching Club

March 16, 2007

Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell joined an exclusive ACC coaching group when his Tigers defeated East Tennessee State on March 14. With the victory, he became just the third coach in ACC history to bring his team to at least a three-game victory improvement three consecutive years. He joins current Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and former Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Cremins on that list. Krzyzewski actually did it for four consecutive years from 1995-99.

Clemson’s victory total has improved from 10 in 2003-04 to 16 in 2004-05 to 19 in 2005-06 to 22 so far this season. It is also the first time in Clemson basketball history (dating to 1911) that Clemson has improved its victory total by at least three games for three consecutive years under the same head coach. Clemson’s ACC win total has also professed from three to five to seven to seven over his four years.

ACC Coaches With Three-Win Improvement, Three Consecutive Years

Coach	School	Base Year	1st Year	2nd Year	3rd Year
Bobby Cremins	Georgia Tech	1981-82 10-16	1982-83 13-15	1983-84 18-11	1984-85 27-8
*Mike Krzyzewski	Duke	1994-95 13-18	1995-96 18-13	1996-97 24-9	1997-98 32-4
Oliver Purnell	Clemson	2003-04 10-18	2004-05 16-16	2005-06 19-13	2006-07 22-10