The Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team represents the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The team participates in the American Conference. The Golden Hurricane are led by head coach Eric Konkol, hired from Louisiana Tech on March 21, 2022, to replace Frank Haith who had resigned.
The team has long been successful, especially since the hiring of Nolan Richardson in 1980. Many big-name coaches previously worked at Tulsa, like University of Kansas coach Bill Self and University of Minnesota coach Tubby Smith. The Hurricane have been to the NCAA tournament 14 times in their history. In addition, they have won two National Invitation Tournaments, in 1981 and 2001, and one CBI tournament. In 2005, Street & Smith's named the University of Tulsa as the 59th best college basketball program of all time.University of Tulsa Media Guide, pg. 139
History
Clarence Iba, brother of Henry Iba, helped to springboard Tulsa to success when named the school's first full-time head coach in 1949. He coached at the school for 11 years, the longest tenure of any Tulsa coach, and is the second all-time winningest coach at the school with 137 wins in his 11 seasons.
Nolan Richardson is credited with bringing the Tulsa program to national prominence when hired in 1980, and he led the school to the 1981 NIT Championship and had a .763 winning percentage at the school. He became the first coach in NCAA history to win 50 games in his first two seasons."Coaching Great Nolan Richardson and Three Former Athletes to Receive Induction into TU Athletic Hall of Fame." Best of Tulsa. Oct. 8, 2006.
In the 1990s and 2000s, a succession of Tulsa coaches went on to big-name programs across the country, including Tubby Smith, Buzz Peterson, and Bill Self. The team remained successful throughout the string of coaches.
Doug Wojcik, coach from 2005 to 2012, is the all-time winningest coach at the school with 140 wins.
Notable assistants in the program's history have included Billy Gillispie, Flip Saunders, Kevin O’Neill, Mike Anderson, Ron Jirsa and Jerry Wainwright.
Notable players The Tulsa program has had players who later played in the NBA. Other players include Gary Collier, the 1994 MVC player of the year; Michael Scott, the 1989 and 1991 MVC defensive player of the year; and Willie Biles, who led the MVC in scoring in the 1972–73 and 1973–74 seasons.University of Tulsa Media Guide, pg. 24, 26
Among those who did make it to the NBA, James King, who came back to coach the program after his NBA career, and Bingo Smith had the greatest success. King was selected to the 1968 NBA All-Star Game, and Smith scored more than 10,000 points in his career, having his number retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Steve Bracey (1970–72) was a member of the 1974–75 Golden State Warriors NBA Championship team.
Golden Hurricane players in the NBA
Steve Bracey1973–1975Atlanta Hawks and Golden State WarriorsJordan Clarkson2014–presentLos Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz and New York KnicksJoe Cooper1982–1985New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Bullets, San Diego Clippers, and Seattle SuperSonicsAl Cueto1970–1971Miami Floridians and Memphis ProsJulian Hammond1968–1972Denver RocketsSteve Harris1986–1990Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, and Los Angeles ClippersShaquille Harrison2018–2022Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, and Brooklyn Nets DaQuan Jeffries2020–2025Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets Neil Johnson1967–1973New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, and Virginia SquiresJerome Jordan2012–2015New York Knicks and Brooklyn NetsJim King1964–1973Los Angeles Lakers, San Francisco Warriors, Cincinnati Royals, and Chicago BullsWill Magnay2021New Orleans PelicansCarlton McKinney1990–1992Los Angeles Clippers and New York KnicksTracy Moore1992–1997Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, and Houston RocketsPaul Pressey1983–1993Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, and Golden State WarriorsMichael Ruffin2000–2009Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, and Portland Trail BlazersShea Seals1998Los Angeles LakersBingo Smith1970–1980San Diego Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and San Diego ClippersKen Smith1976San Antonio SpursBen Uzoh2011–2012New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Toronto Raptors
History Tulsa's basketball program was founded by W.R. Bergen in 1907, when the school still went by the name Kendall College. It went 1–1 in its first season. Following the 1908–09 season, the team went on hiatus for several years before restarting for the 1913–14 season under Harvey Allen.Bonham, Chad. Golden Hurricane Basketball at the University of Tulsa. Chicago: Arcadia, 2004, pg. 9 In 1917, the school played its first games outside the state of Oklahoma, but did not see great success until Francis Schmidt became head coach in 1918; Schmidt led the school to 16 consecutive victories in the 1919–20 season, the school record.Bonham, pg. 10 The team hit hard times and achieved occasional modest success until the arrival of Clarence Iba in 1949. Of special note is the 1942–1943 winless squad under Mike Milligan, whose team went 0–10.Bonham, pg. 19
Under Iba, Tulsa reached the post-season for the first time in the 1953 NIT.Bonham, pg. 22 (In March 1921, Tulsa had been invited to the National A.A.U. tournament after an 18–1 season which widely regarded them as Oklahoma champions).Logsdon, Guy Williams. The University of Tulsa: A History from 1882 to 1972, Doctoral Dissertation at the University of Tulsa, 1975, pp. 158, 262. In 1955, Iba led the Golden Hurricane to their first Missouri Valley Conference title and NCAA tournament appearance. Joe Swank succeeded Iba in 1960. It was under Swank that the color barrier was broken in the Tulsa basketball program.Bonham, pg. 35 Swank had some winning seasons, but the program would be without real success until the arrival of Nolan Richardson.
Nolan Richardson's hiring helped to usher in a new era of success at Tulsa that has remained fairly consistent since then. He led the team the NIT Championship in the 1980–1981 season, his first at the school. Richardson also won two MVC regular season and two MVC tournament championships in his five-season tenure. His flamboyant personality made him extremely popular; his teams adopted McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" as their theme song during the Richardson years."Tubbs happy for Richardson: Q&A with Nolan Richardson." Tulsa World, Oct. 13, 2006. Richardson was succeeded by J. D. Barnett, who continued the team's success, winning one tournament and one regular season championship and finishing lower than third in the conference only once. Barnett was fired, however, due to the significant increase in expectations at Tulsa following Richardson's success.Bonham, pg. 68
Barnett was succeeded by Tubby Smith, who went on to coach at Kentucky, Georgia and Minnesota. Smith spent four seasons at Tulsa, winning two MVC championships and leading them past the first round of the NCAA tournament for the first time, to the Sweet Sixteen in both the 1993–1994 and 1994–1995 seasons. A succession of high-profile coaches came through following Smith's departure for Georgia. Steve Robinson led the team to consecutive NCAA appearances before departing for Florida State. Bill Self succeeded Robinson for three seasons, winning two WAC titles in the 1998–99 and 1999–00 seasons and leading Tulsa to its best record ever, a 32–5 record in the 1999–00 season. Tulsa advanced to the Elite Eight in the 2000 NCAA tournament as a #7 seed.Bill Haisten, "When TU was Elite: Ten years ago, Bill Self coached the Golden Hurricane to a 32–5 record and within one game of advancing to the Final Four", Tulsa World, March 26, 2010. Self departed for Illinois and was succeeded by Buzz Peterson. Peterson led the team to the 2001 NIT Championship and promptly took the head coaching position at the University of Tennessee.
Following Peterson's departure, John Phillips led the team to NCAA tournaments in his first two seasons and won a WAC title. However, he passed on local high school star Caleb Green, a decision that came back to haunt him when Green signed with ORU.Brown, Mike. ORU seniors hoping for a Tulsa sweep, Tulsa World, November 28, 2006. Phillips resigned on Christmas Day, 2004. The team finished that season 9th in the WAC, TU's worst ever conference finish.University of Tulsa Media Guide, pg. 153 Doug Wojcik was hired before the 2005–06 season to revive the program. He led the team to 20 wins in both his second, third, and fourth seasons and the 2008 College Basketball Invitational championship, led by tournament MVP Jerome Jordan. Wojcik's hiring also coincided with Tulsa's decision to join Conference USA.
Much has been made of Tulsa's ability to hire good coaching candidates but their inability to retain them like Gonzaga has been able to. Since Barnett's firing after the 1990–91 season, only one coach has stayed at the program more than four seasons and all but one have departed for larger programs. Barnett has speculated that finances may be a reason when larger programs come calling, but he also "[does]n't know what the real philosophical reasons are."Tiberii, Jeff. “Tulsa produces, can't keep best coaches.” Daily Orange, January 26, 2005.
Awards Coach of the Year Clarence Iba – 1955 – MVC Joe Swank – 1967 – MVC Ken Hayes – 1969, 1973 – MVC Nolan Richardson – 1981, 1985 – MVC J. D. Barnett – 1987 – MVC Tubby Smith – 1994, 1995 – MVC Bill Self – 2000 – WAC Danny Manning – 2014 – C-USA Frank Haith – 2020 – AAC
Player of the Year Bingo Smith – 1969 – MVC Paul Pressey – 1982 – MVC Gary Collier – 1994 – MVC
Defensive Player of the Year Michael Scott – 1989, 1991 – MVC Lou Dawkins – 1994 – MVC
Freshman of the Year Shea Seals – 1994 – MVC Greg Harrington – 1999 – WACUniversity of Tulsa Media Guide, pg. 24
Retired numbers
Seven numbers have been retired by the University of Tulsa basketball program. The most recent was that of Bingo Smith on February 22, 2020.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane retired numbers No.PlayerTenureNo. ret.Ref. 12 Willie Biles 1971–1974 2010 Tulsa to Retire Willie Biles Jersey During Legends Weekend at tulsahurricane.com, 2 Jun 2010 20 Steve Harris 1981–1985 Former Tulsa Basketball star Steve Harris passed away Monday by John Moss, 22 Feb 2016 21 Shea Seals 1993–1997 1997 Tulsa to Retire Seals' No. 21, 22 Feb 1997 at The Oklahoman 24 Jim King 1960–1963 2000 25 Paul Pressey 1980–1982 30 Bob Patterson 1951–1955 KING'S NO. 24 TO BE RETIRED, 14 Feb 2000 32 Bingo Smith 1966–1969 2020
Post-season The Golden Hurricane have made 16 NCAA tournament appearances (12–16 combined record), 10 NIT appearances (12–8 combined record), and two CBI appearances (5–2 combined record). They are twice NIT champions, in 1981 and 2001, and were champions of the CBI in 2008.
NCAA tournament results