Bruce Parkhill

Summary

Bruce Parkhill (born June 16, 1949) is a former head college men's basketball coach whose stops included William & Mary (1977–1983) and Penn State (1983–1995).

Bruce Parkhill
Personal information
Born (1949-06-06) June 6, 1949 (age 74)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Career information
High schoolState College
(State College, Pennsylvania)
CollegeLock Haven (1968–1971)
NBA draft1971: undrafted
Career history
As coach:
1972–1974Virginia (graduate assistant)
1974–1977William & Mary (assistant)
1977–1983William & Mary
1983–1995Penn State
2000–2002Ohio State (assistant)
Career highlights and awards

His 1990–91 Nittany Lions won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and stunned UCLA, 74–69, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Syracuse Carrier Dome

Parkhill's efforts assembled a team that's generally regarded as one of the best in the history of the program, though he resigned Sept. 6, 1995 just before what proved to be a memorable season. The 1995–96 Nittany Lions, led by Jerry Dunn and assistants Ed DeChellis (now head coach at Navy) and Frank Haith (now head coach at Tulsa), started 13–0 (ranked as high as No. 9 in AP poll), moved from Rec Hall to the Bryce Jordan Center, finished tied for second in the Big Ten, the school's highest placing ever, but were upset as a 5-seed in the NCAA first round by Arkansas.

Parkhill guided Penn State to four straight 20-win seasons before starting play in the Big Ten in 1992–93. All 43 seniors who played for him at Penn State did graduate. Parkhill allowed the conference to recruit for him and I think that's what Parkhill is doing.

His father, Will, lettered for the Nittany Lion basketball team in 1948. A 1967 State College Area High School graduate, Parkhill lettered in three sports at Lock Haven University before graduating in 1971. His younger brother, Barry Parkhill, was a basketball standout at the University of Virginia.

Later in his career, Parkhill served as an assistant coach at Ohio State University and earlier as a head coach for the William & Mary Tribe.

His tenure at William & Mary was fairly successful. Bruce guided the Indians (W&M's official mascot at the time) to an 89–75 (54.3%) overall record between 1977–1983. On December 7, 1977 William & Mary upset second-ranked North Carolina 78–75, in Williamsburg. The 1982–83 season saw W&M go 9–0 in conference play to win the ECAC South regular season championship. .[1]

Head coaching record edit

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
William & Mary Tribe (Independent) (1977–1979)
1977–78 William & Mary 16–10
1978–79 William & Mary 9–17
William & Mary Tribe (ECAC South) (1979–1983)
1979–80 William & Mary 12–15
1980–81 William & Mary 16–12 6–4 4th
1981–82 William & Mary 16–12 6–5 4th
1982–83 William & Mary 20–9 9–0 1st NIT Opening Round
William & Mary: 89–75 23–10
Penn State Nittany Lions (Atlantic 10 Conference) (1983–1991)
1983–84 Penn State 5–22 3–15 10th
1984–85 Penn State 8–19 4–14 9th
1985–86 Penn State 12–17 5–13 T–8th
1986–87 Penn State 15–12 9–9 T–4th
1987–88 Penn State 13–14 9–9 T–4th
1988–89 Penn State 20–12 12–6 4th NIT Second Round
1989–90 Penn State 25–9 13–5 2nd NIT Final Four, 3rd Place
1990–91 Penn State 21–11 10–8 T–3rd NCAA Second Round
Penn State Nittany Lions (Independent) (1991–1992)
1991–92 Penn State 21–8 NIT Opening Round
Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten Conference) (1992–1995)
1992–93 Penn State 7–20 2–16 10th
1993–94 Penn State 13–14 6–12 8th
1994–95 Penn State 21–11 9–9 7th NIT Final Four, 3rd Place
Penn State: 181–169 89–120
Total: 268–241

      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

References edit

  1. ^ William & Mary men's basketball history – Media Guide 2007–08 Archived January 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed January 10, 2014.