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Tim Welsh returns for his second season as the head coach at Providence College looking to build on the momentum he got started last season. The 38-year old bench boss brought the excitement back to Providence College basketball with his non-stop, full-court pressure style of play. Welsh's Friars were 16-14 overall with a team that featured no regular player over 6-7. The Friars were 9-9 on the year in the BIG EAST including a school record five league road wins. Early in the season, PC knocked off four Top-25 teams in a row (Rhode Island, Pittsburgh, Purdue and Syracuse) on the way to the Friars' first postseason appearance since 1997. The highly popular head coach will lead the Friars into the new millenium with a recruiting class that has been ranked among the top ten in the nation. Seven new recruits will join transfer center Karim Shabazz (7-2 from Florida State) and four returnees, Jamaal Camah, Llewellyn Cole, John Linehan and Erron Maxey for the new season. The Tim Welsh Era at Providence College officially began on April 2, 1998 when the Massena, New York native was named the 13th head basketball coach in the school's storied basketball history. The announcement was made by Providence College President Reverend Philip A. Smith and Assistant Vice-President for Athletics, John M. Marinatto. In making the appointment, Father Smith said, "We sought the opinions of some of the most knowledgeble people in the country about college basketball and coaching talent. Specifically, we wanted a coach capable of sustaining the rich tradition of Providence College basketball and, equally important, an outstanding person who would fully embrace the College's educational philosophy. Tim Welsh was at the top of everyone's list." Marinatto added, "We are obviously very pleased to name Tim Welsh our new head basketball coach. His success at Iona and his very impressive bloodlines underscore the fact that he is one of the rising young stars in college basketball. He is an excellent teacher of the game, a fine communicator, and a motivator of young people. Tim will be a good fit in the College community and we're extremely excited to have him at Providence." Welsh achieved a great deal of success in just three seasons as the head coach at Iona leading the Gaels to three consecutive 20-win seasons. During that time, his teams turned in a 70-22 overall mark (76.1%), including a 27-win season in 1997-98, that got the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985. During the 1997-98 campaign, Iona recorded just six losses while knocking off two BIG EAST opponents (Providence and Rutgers) and one Atlantic 10 foe (Fordham). The Gaels also put together the nation's longest winning streak - 15 games during the season. In the three-game, MAAC Tournament, Iona led in all three games for all but 11 seconds with the closest game being an 11-point win over Loyola-Baltimore. In three years with Welsh calling the shots, Iona advanced to postseason action each year, going to the National Invitation Tournament in 1996 and 1997 and the NCAA Tournament this past year. A two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (1997, 1998), Welsh also received 1996-97 NABC District II Coach of the Year honors and the 1995-96 Peter A. Carlesimo Award as the Metropolitan Area's Division I Coach of the Year. Welsh served as an interim head coach for ten games during the 1994-95 season, replacing his father, Hall of Fame coach Jerry Welsh, who stepped down following that season due to medical reasons. Prior to that Tim had served as an assistant on his father's staff for four years. No stranger to the BIG EAST, Welsh served as an assistant coach to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse for three seasons (1988-91). During that time, Syracuse was 82-21, won two BIG EAST Conference Championships, the 1988 Preseason NIT Championship, and made three trips to the NCAA Tournament. The 37-year old head coach got his start in college coaching at Iona where he served as a volunteer assistant to Pat Kennedy in 1985. Following that season, he became an assistant on Kennedy's staff at Florida State for two years before moving on to Syracuse. Welsh played his college basketball under his father at Potsdam State. He was a member of the 1981 Division III National Championship team and captained the team as a senior. WELSH-COACHED UPSETS VERSUS TOP 25 TEAMS Date Rank * Team (Score) 11/14/98 #23/#25 Rhode Island (87-63) 12/27/98 #9/#8 Purdue (87-82) 12/30/98 #23/#23 at Pittsburgh (83-68) 1/12/99 #18/#18 at Syracuse (67-58) The Welsh Facts File
Coaching Experience
Coaching Honors
WELSH VERSUS OPPONENTS (86-36,.705) Team W L Alaska-Fairbanks 1 0 American 3 0 Arkansas 0 1 Boston College 1 0 Brown University 1 0 Canisius 4 3 Clemson 0 1 Cleveland State 2 1 Colgate 2 0 Connecticut 0 2 Cornell 2 0 Detroit 1 1 Duquesne 0 1 Evansville 0 1 Fairfield 5 2 Fairleigh Dickinson 2 0 Fordham 3 0 Georgetown 1 2 Hampton 2 0 Hofstra 1 0 Kentucky 0 1 Liberty 1 0 Loyola (MD) 6 1 Maine 1 0 Manhattan 3 3 Marist 3 0 Miami (FL) 0 1 Morgan State 1 0 Niagara 6 0 Northeastern 1 0 North Carolina State 1 1 Notre Dame 0 2 Pittsburgh 1 0 Providence 1 0 Purdue 1 0 Rhode Island 3 0 Richmond 1 0 Rider 2 0 Rutgers 1 2 St. Francis (NY) 1 0 St. John's 1 2 St. Joseph's 0 1 St. Peter's 4 2 Seton Hall 2 0 Siena 7 1 Syracuse 1 1 Texas Christian 0 1 Texas-Pan American 1 0 Vanderbilt 0 1 Villanova 2 0 Wagner 1 1 West Virginia 2 0 TIM WELSH COACHING RECORD
YEAR SCHOOL RECORD PCT CONF. REC. FINISH TOUR POST SEASON
1995-96 Iona College 21-8 .724 10-4 Tie First 1-1 NIT 0-1
1996-97 Iona College 22-8 .733 11-3 First 0-1 NIT 0-1
1997-98 Iona College 27-6 .818 15-3 First 3-0 NCAA 0-1
1998-99 Providence College 16-14 .533 9-9 Tie Sixth 0-1 NIT 0-1
Career 4 years 86-36 .705 45-19 * Three Titles 4-3*
*Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (three years) |
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