What They're Saying About Coach Boone | Coach Boone Year-By-Year

Jim Boone is entering his third season as the head men's basketball coach.

Boone has over quarter of a century of collegiate coaching experience, including the last 20 years as a head coach. He has recorded 348 victories, including 255 wins at the NCAA Division II level. His 348 wins are currently ranked 38th in NCAA II history. In his first year in Greeneville, he guided the Pioneers to a 14-15 record, including the program's third trip to the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinal in four years.

His 228-71 record at the California University of Pennsylvania gave Boone a .763 winning percentage, which at the time was the second best success rate of active Division II coaches.

In his 10 seasons at California, Boone led the Vulcans to seven postseason appearances. California advanced to six NCAA Tournaments, posting an impressive 12-4 record, including a pair of NCAA Final Four appearances.

His 1992 team went 31-2 and was the No. 1 ranked team in the final NCAA II poll. That squad captured the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship and moved onto the first of two NCAA Final Fours.

Boone, a native of Winfield, W.Va., spent five seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division I Eastern Michigan University where he compiled a 48-96 mark. His squads continued to make progress each year during his tenure, including the Eagles 14-14 mark in 2002-03 an eight-win improvement from the season before.

Prior to working at EMU, he served four years as the head coach at Robert Morris University. He built the Colonials into a winner following seasons of 4-23 and 8-19, as he guided Robert Morris to a 15-12 mark in 1998-99 and 18-12 in 1999-00. That 2000 squad advanced to the NEC Championship Game and came up one step shy of advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

During his career, his teams have recorded 17 or more wins on 12 occasions, including six conference championships, four tournament titles, seven post season appearances.

From 1990-96, his California teams recorded over 20 victories for six consecutive years tallying an impressive 150-33 mark during that span. His 94-24 league record in the PSAC is still the best of any coach in that conference's history.

He has been named PSAC Coach of the Year on three occasions (1988, 1992, 1996) and NCAA Region Coach Year twice (1992, 1996).

In 2005, Boone was inducted to the California University of Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Boone played his collegiate basketball at West Virginia State College where he was a four-year letterman. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Accounting from WVSC in 1981 and followed that with a MBA from the University of Kentucky in 1982 with a concentration in Marketing.

He began his coaching career at his alma mater where he served as the head assistant coach from 1982-85. Boone spent one season as the head assistant coach at Charleston Southern University as the Buccaneers won the 1986 Big South Conference Championship.

He is married to the former Stephanie VanVranken and they are the parents of two sons, Jimmy, 18 and Joey, 16. Jimmy will be entering his sophomore season on the Pioneer basketball team in 2007-08.

What They're Saying About Coach Boone:

"Jim Boone is an outstanding person and coach. Someone will be very fortunate to have Coach Boone run their program. With over 300 wins, Jim is someone of courage, ability and a tremendous leader."

Mike Krzyzewski
Head Coach
Duke University

"Coach Boone has established himself in the coaching community as one of the nation's premier teachers. I have tremendous respect for Coach Boone. He is an outstanding basketball coach, and his basketball programs are synonymous with excellence."

Herb Sendek
Head Coach
Arizona State University

"Basketball, as it is taught by Coach Boone, is a formula for success. Jim Boone does not just teach basketball, he teaches life lessons. He has developed a philosophy that exceeds the boundaries of offense and defense. Jim's programs have been yearly one of the nation's most successful on any level, and the primary reason, is because he brings an overriding purpose to everything he does. 'Commitment to Excellence,' is the credo that Jim has used to oversee the values and principles that govern his teams."

Dale Brown
Former Head Coach
Louisiana State University

Boone Year-By-Year
Year	School	Record	Highlights
1986-87	California (Pa.)	17-12	PSAC West Champions/PSAC Runner-Up
1987-88	California (Pa.)	25-6	PSAC Champion/NCAA Region Finals
1988-89	California (Pa.)	18-10	None
1989-90	California (Pa.)	18-10	ECAC Tournament
1990-91	California (Pa.)	21-7	PSAC West Champions/PSAC Tournament
1991-92	California (Pa.)	31-2	PSAC Champion/NCAA Final Four
1992-93	California (Pa.)	23-6	PSAC West Champions/PSAC Runner-Up/NCAA
1993-94	California (Pa.)	25-5	PSAC Champion/NCAA East Region Finals
1994-95	California (Pa.)	23-7	PSAC Runner-Up/NCAA East Region Finals
1995-96	California (Pa.)	27-6	PSAC Champion/NCAA Final Four
1996-97	Robert Morris	4-23	NEC Tournament
1997-98	Robert Morris	8-19	NEC Tournament Quarterfinal
1998-99	Robert Morris	15-12	NEC Tournament Quarterfinal
1999-00	Robert Morris	18-12	NEC Championship Game
2000-01	Eastern Michigan	3-25	MAC Tournament
2001-02	Eastern Michigan	6-24	MAC Tournament
2002-03	Eastern Michigan	14-14	MAC Tournament
2003-04	Eastern Michigan	13-15	MAC Tournament
2004-05	Eastern Michigan	12-18	MAC Tournament
2005-06	Tusculum	14-15	SAC Tournament Semifinal
2006-06	Tusculum	13-15	SAC Tournament Quarterfinal
21-year Head Coaching Record: 348-263 (.570) 12-year NCAA Division II Record: 252-101 (.714)

 

DAN WALTER (email: dwalter@tusculum.edu)
Assistant Coach

Dan Walter is beginning his first season as assistant men's basketball coach at Tusculum College.  Walter will assist with all aspects of the men’s basketball program, with an emphasis on recruiting, development of the post players, scouting, teaching, game preparation and summer camps

Walter comes to the Tusculum campus after serving the last two seasons as an assistant coach on the Adrian College staff.  He served as the team's recruiting coordinator while working primarily with the development of the Bulldogs' post players.  Last year's squad posted a 10-15 record, but finished tied for fourth in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).  Prior to returning to his alma mater at Adrian, he served on the coaching staff at NCAA Division II Tiffin University where he recruited and mentored two NCAA II All-Independent Players.

During his collegiate playing career, he was a four-time All-MIAA selection at Adrian where he ranks second all-time in scoring with 1,620 points.  The former All-Region selection and team most valuable player led the MIAA in scoring as a senior, averaging 19.4 points per game.

Walter, a native of Tiffin, Ohio, earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Adrian in 2003.  In 2006, he earned a Master's of Business Administration from Tiffin.

RYAN OTTO (email: rotto@tusculum.edu)
Assistant Coach

Ryan Otto is entering his second season on the Tusculum College coaching staff. Otto also serves as the assistant director of academic support services for the Tusculum Trio Program, a position he has held since 2002.

The Bedford, Texas native assists with all aspects of the program, including practice preparation and academic counseling.

Otto earned his Bachelor's degree in Business from Baylor University in 1993. He later earned his Master's degree in English from East Tennessee State University and is currently pursuing his doctorate degree at the University of Tennessee.

Ryan has many hobbies including photography and Ultimate Frisbee. He has been a talented photo contributor for Tusculum College for the past six years.

Ryan is married to the former Staci Pinkston of Bedford, Texas and they are the proud parents of one daughter, Reilly, 3.