Richard "Digger" Phelps
Alma Mater:
Rider College (NJ)
Class of:
Hometown:
Beacon, NY
- Named UPI national coach of the year in 1974
- Reached Final Four in 1978 NCAA Tournament (4th)
- NIT runner-up in 1973 and 1984
- Guided Notre Dame to nation's best record among independent schools three years (1974, 1985 and 1986)
- Notre Dame's all-time winningest coach
- Compiled a 65-20 record (.765) as freshman coach for Penn in four seasons from 1966-67 through 1969-70
- Final Top 20 Rankings (11: AP/UPI/USA)--1971 (9/9), 1974 (5/3), 1975 (14/14), 1976 (7/8), 1977 (10/NR), 1978 (6/11), 1979 (4/5), 1980 (9/11), 1981 (7/9), 1986 (10/11/21) and 1987 (18/18/16)
- All-Americans (seven): Fordham's Charles Yelverton (1971) and Notre Dame's Gary Brokaw (1974), Adrian Dantley (1975 and 1976), John Paxson (1982 and 1983), David Rivers (1988), John Shumate (1974) and Kelly Tripucka (1979 through 1981).
Record:
Season | School | Overall | League | Finish | Conference (Division) | Postseason (Record) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26-3 | NCAA (2-1) | |||||
6-20 | DNP | |||||
18-12 | NIT (3-1) | |||||
26-3 | NCAA (2-1) | |||||
19-10 | NCAA (1-2) | |||||
23-6 | NCAA (1-1) | |||||
22-7 | NCAA (1-1) | |||||
23-8 | NCAA (3-2) | |||||
24-6 | NCAA (2-1) | |||||
22-6 | NCAA (0-1) | |||||
23-6 | NCAA (1-1) | |||||
10-17 | DNP | |||||
19-10 | NIT (0-1) | |||||
21-12 | NIT (4-1) | |||||
21-9 | NCAA (1-1) | |||||
23-6 | NCAA (0-1) | |||||
24-8 | NCAA (2-1) | |||||
20-9 | NCAA (0-1) | |||||
21-9 | NCAA (1-1) | |||||
16-13 | NCAA (0-1) | |||||
12-20 | DNP |
- 21-Year Coaching Record: 419-200 (.677) overall
- 26-3 (.897) in one year at Fordham
- 393-197 (.666) in 20 years at Notre Dame
- 17-17 (.500) in NCAA Tournament
- 7-3 (.700) in NIT