Bob Richey - Head Basketball Coach, Furman University 

Bob Richey is in his ninth season as head coach of the Furman men’s basketball team and 15th overall with the program.
 
A finalist for both the 2023 Hugh Durham Coach of the Year Award and Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, Richey has helped propel the Paladins to national prominence with 10 consecutive winning seasons, including the 2023 Southern Conference regular season title, the program’s first SoCon Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth since 1980, and its first tournament victory since 1974. In his seven seasons as head coach, the 2022-23 J. Lyles Alley Furman Coach of the Year has guided the Paladins to a 181-81 overall record and 99-42 mark in Southern Conference play while posting a .691 winning percentage, which ranks in the top 25 among all active Division I head coaches.
 
Under Richey’s leadership, Furman has won at least 25 games in four of the last seven seasons and at least 22 victories in seven of the last nine years. Furman’s .691 overall winning percentage and .690 SoCon winning percentage over the past eight seasons both rank among the best in the SoCon during Richey’s tenure.
 
The 2022-23 Paladins notched a school-record 28 victories, highlighted by an 88-79 triumph over Chattanooga in the SoCon Championship game and a 68-67 victory over No. 4 seed Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Orlando, Fla. Seniors Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson both garnered first team All-SoCon accolades for the second straight year and were named finalists for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year Award. Slawson earned SoCon Player of the Year honors and was selected to play in the NABC Reese’s College All-Star Game before being taken in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. Bothwell inked a free agent deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers in June.
 
A native of Florence, S.C., Richey, who served six seasons as a member of the Paladin coaching staff before moving into the head coaching role, helped Furman to a school record-tying 23 total victories and 14 Southern Conference wins in 2017, while the program earned a share of its first Southern Conference regular season championship in 21 years and a trip the CollegeInsider.com (CIT) Postseason Tournament semifinals. The 2016-17 Paladins, who also won a school record 12 road games, notched back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since 1974-75, and captured postseason victories in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
 
Richey’s recruits have garnered all-conference honors in 11 consecutive seasons, including Furman recruits Croone (2014, ‘15, ‘16 All-SoCon), Acox (2017 All-SoCon), and Sibley (2017 All-SoCon). He has also helped recruit six players over the last seven seasons who have garnered SoCon All-Freshman honors, including Sibley, who won 2015 SoCon Freshman of the Year accolades.
 
A graduate of Florence Christian School, Richey led his team to a 28-2 record and state championship his senior year. He was named the 3A State player of the year and currently holds seven school records at Florence Christian.
 
Richey graduated summa cum laude from North Greenville University in May of 2006 with a degree in business management. In April of 2007, he married the former Jessica Tingle and the couple have four children, Audrey Grace, Robert McIntire “Mac”,  Jacks Berner, and Francis “Francie” Elizabeth.