|
||||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
||||||
|
Charlotte 49ers head men's basketball coach Alan Major announced the hiring of Desmond Oliver as assistant basketball coach, April 20, 2010. Oliver, who spent the 2009-10 season as an assistant at Canisius after a five-year stint at Georgia, joined Ryan Odom and Orlando Vandross to complete Major's first coaching staff and the staff is now in his third season. A Buffalo native, Oliver has spent 16 seasons as a Division I coach, including stops at a pair of Atlantic 10 schools, Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure, under head coach Jim Baron. He also coached at Cornell, Texas A&M and Niagara. "I got to know him when I was at Xavier and I've known him about 12 years now," said Major. "He's done an outstanding job at every stop. He's got great passion and great energy for the game. He is someone who connects with our team. He's got a great feel not only for the region, but the east coast in general." Oliver graduated from Dominican College in 1992. He was a three-year starter on the team and served as team captain in his final two seasons. He earned his master's degree from Buffalo State in 1994, while beginning his coaching career as an assistant coach at Turner-Carroll High School. "Charlotte has had great success in Conference USA, before coming to the A-10," Oliver said. "You have great resources within a great city like Charlotte. The city is a hotbed for basketball talent. Georgia is a hotbed for talent and only a few hours away. You combine that with Coach Major and a staff that has a history in rebuilding programs and the potential to win becomes great! I'm looking forward to working with a great administration and getting back to top of the conference and participating in the NCAA tournament". While at Georgia, Oliver helped the Bulldogs to the 2008 SEC Tournament Championship and subsequent NCAA Tournament bid. That SEC Championship came with four wins in three days due to a tornado that blew through Atlanta, forcing postponements and a venue move from the Georgia Dome to Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs won two games in one day, beating Kentucky and Mississippi State, to advance to the finals against Arkansas. The Bulldogs also reached the NIT in 2007. Oliver helped build two programs, Georgia and Rhode Island, back from NCAA Tournament sanctions. Georgia, for instance, rebounded from an eight-win season in 2004-05 to back-to-back post-season trips in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Likewise at Rhode Island, the Rams rallied from an eight-win season in 2001-02 to back-to-back 19-plus win seasons and NIT berths in 2003 and 2004. In their one season together at St. Bonaventure, Baron and Oliver led the Bonnies to the 2001 NIT. He coached for two years at Cornell and one season at Texas A&M after starting his collegiate career at Niagara, where he was a volunteer administrative assistant before earning a coaching spot which he held for two years. Oliver is married to Annette Applewaithe and they have two children: Dante and Dallas Oliver.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
Copyright © 2013 UNC Charlotte
All Rights Reserved.
All Rights Reserved.
