Kevin O'Neill (basketball)

Kevin O'Neill (born January 24 1957) is a basketball coach, most recently serving as the interim head basketball coach at the University of Arizona.

O'Neill has served as a basketball coach in both the NCAA and the NBA. After tenures at North Country Community College (Saranac Lake, New York), Marycrest College (Davenport, Iowa), Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern he became an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy with the New York Knicks. In 2001, he joined the Detroit Pistons under head coach Rick Carlisle.

The McGill University graduate returned to Canada in June 2003 as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors. His tenure was marked by inconsistency among his players, but the team was 25-25 after 50 games and in a position to return to the playoffs. However, injuries to key players resulted in the team going 8-24 to finish the season three games out of a playoff spot. On April 17 2004, O'Neill was fired in the aftermath of a disappointing 2003-2004 season after making some remarks which were taken to question the team's commitment to winning.

During his tenure as the Northwestern coach O'Neill is most notably remembered for a game with Indiana where the rowdy Northwestern faithful chanted "Who's your Daddy?" at opposing coach Bob Knight. Of course this did not sit well with Knight as he and O'Neill got into it during the contest. However all was settled under a practice gym basket well after the game as ESPN camera crews caught the coaches talking their issues out.

In the 2004-2005 season he was hired as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers where he rejoined head coach Rick Carlisle.

As a university coach at Marquette, O'Neill led the Warriors to two 20+ win season, two NCAA tournament appearances, and a Great Midwest Conference Championship. O'Neill played a prominent role in the 1994 Oscar-nominated documentary, Hoop Dreams.

On May 1, 2007 it was announced that O'Neill would replacing Jim Rosborough as the assistant coach to Hall of Famer Lute Olson at the University of Arizona. [http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6764218] . O'Neill was an assistant under Olson during Arizona's rise to national prominence in the 1980s, and used it as a launching board to attain his first major head coaching position at Marquette.

On November 4, 2007, Olson announced that he was taking an "indefinite leave of absence", and that O'Neill would assume Olson's head coaching duties in his absence. [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3094359] . Then, on December 6, Olson released a statement that said he would be extending his leave of absence for the remainder of the season. He cited personal family reasons that required his immediate attention; the next day, his attorney revealed that Olson filed for divorce from his second wife.cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3145718 |title=Already on leave of absence, Arizona's Olson getting divorced |publisher="ESPN.com" |date=2007-12-08 |accessdate=2007-12-18] It was announced on December 6 that O'Neill would remain the interim head coach for the rest of the season. [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3144989] Later, on December 18, Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood announced O'Neill as the designated successor to Olson. While Olson has said he plans to return for the 2008-09 season, O'Neill will succeed him when he decides to retire.cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3159753 |title=Arizona makes it official: O'Neill to take over when Olson retires as coach |publisher="ESPN.com" |date=2007-12-18 |accessdate=2007-12-18] In recent weeks, however, Olson has announced he is returning as head coach at the end of the 2007-2008 season.cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3286361 |title=Olson to coach Arizona next season |publisher="ESPN.com" |date=2008-03-10 |accessdate=2008-03-13] With the announcement of Olson's return, the O'Neill succession plan is now in question amidst recent rumors of disagreement between Olson and O'Neill.cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3274173 |title=Olson participates in Wildcats' senior day ceremony, remains silent |publisher="ESPN.com" |date=2008-03-02 |accessdate=2008-03-13] Lute Olson announced in an April 1, 2008 news conference that O'Neill will not be retained on the University of Arizona staff.

In May 2008, O'Neill was hired as an NBA Assistant Coach for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Notes and references

(http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/7978140/Combative-Olson:-O'Neill-'won't-be-on-the-staff')

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/coachfile/kevin_oneill/index.html Kevin O'Neill profile] @ NBA.com