Phil Cunningham Named Troy University Men’s Basketball Head Coach

What They're Saying About Phil Cunningham
Press Conference Transcript

TROY, Ala. – A 23-year coaching veteran and nationally recognized assistant coach, Phil Cunningham was named the men's basketball head coach at Troy University by Athletics Director John Hartwell at a press conference Tuesday in Troy's state-of-the-art Trojan Arena.

Cunningham, who becomes the sixth head coach in Troy history, was recently named one of the top 25 assistant coaches in the NCAA by Rivals.com and was recognized by The Hoop Scoop recruiting publication as one of the top NCAA Division I men's basketball assistant coaches.

Cunningham takes over the Troy program after Don Maestri announced his retirement on March 9 following 31 seasons and 500 wins as the head coach of the Trojans.

The Campbellsville, Ky., native spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach at Mississippi State before joining the staff at Western Kentucky last season. Cunningham's teams at Mississippi State and Western Kentucky made 11 postseason appearances in 13 years, including seven NCAA Tournament appearances, and all 12 of the recruiting classes he was involved with at Mississippi State were nationally recognized.

On the court, Cunningham's daily contributions to the Bulldog basketball program resulted in Mississippi State's string of six NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 years. He worked primarily with the Bulldog guards and had a heavy hand in the program's recruiting efforts, helping land players such as Jarvis Varnado, Jamont Gordon, Arnett Moultrie and also Monta Ellis, who wound up going directly to the NBA out of high school after signing with Mississippi State.

Cunningham was a part of five Southeastern Conference Western Division crowns, one overall conference championship and two conference tournament titles in his final nine seasons at Mississippi State, and the Bulldogs averaged over 20 wins per season since he joined the staff before the 2000-01 season.

Before his tenure at Mississippi State, Cunningham spent five seasons as an assistant coach under legendary head coach Charles “Lefty” Driesell at James Madison and Georgia State. Hartwell was an associate athletic director at Georgia State and served as the color analyst for men's basketball on the Georgia State Radio Network during Cunningham's tenure with the Panthers.

Cunningham, who was promoted to Driesell's associate head coach his final two seasons at GSU, was instrumental in helping transform the Panthers into one of the winningest basketball programs in the Atlantic Sun Conference. His recruiting efforts at Georgia State proved pivotal in the Panthers landing successive conference player of the year recipients Thomas Terrell and Shernard Long.

Prior to moving to Georgia State with Driesell in 1997, Cunningham spent the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons as an assistant coach on the staff of Driesell at James Madison University.

Cunningham's 18-year stint as an NCAA Division I assistant coach was preceded by a three-year stay as head basketball coach at Sue Bennett College in London, Ky. Taking over a former junior college program making the jump to four-year competition in the NAIA, Cunningham paced Sue Bennett to 48 victories during his three seasons at the helm of the Dragons, including postseason tournament appearances during each of the school's first two years of postseason eligibility status.

Cunningham began his coaching career during the 1990-91 season as an assistant coach on his father's staff at Campbellsville University after graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He helped lead the Tigers to the District 32 championship and an appearance in the NAIA Tournament.

He then went to Mississippi State as a graduate assistant for the 1991-92 season, where he earned a master's degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports administration.

During his prep athletic career at Taylor County High School in Campbellsville, Ky., Cunningham was an all-state honorable mention backcourt performer in addition to excelling on the diamond as a shortstop.

After graduating from Taylor County, Cunningham began his collegiate playing career at Kentucky Wesleyan and won a NCAA Division II National Championship in 1987. Citing a desire to play for his highly respected father, Cunningham subsequently transferred to Campbellsville College, now Campbellsville University, where he finished his career ranked among the school's all-time leaders in career assists.

Cunningham has one daughter, Shelby (12).

Phil Cunningham Coaching Career
Campbellsville (Ky.) College, assistant coach, 1990-91
Mississippi State, graduate assistant, 1991-92
Sue Bennett College, head coach, 1992-95
James Madison, assistant coach, 1995-97
Georgia State, assistant coach, 1997-98
Georgia State, associate head coach, 1998-2000
Mississippi State, assistant coach, 2000-12
Western Kentucky, assistant coach, 2012-13
Troy, head coach, 2013-14

What They're Saying About Troy Head Coach Phil Cunningham

Lefty Driesell – Former head coach (Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, Georgia State)
“When I hired him at JMU he had already been a head coach near his hometown in Kentucky. I was really impressed with his knowledge of the game. I hired him and he really did a great job for me there. When I left and went to Georgia State, he was the first guy I hired on my new staff. He helped me build that program up, and even though he had left, we sent him a ring when we won the conference championship the next season. He knows basketball. He knows how to recruit. He's an excellent teacher. Troy got a steal, he's terrific. I'm surprised nobody has hired him before now.”

Rick Stansbury – Former head coach (Mississippi State)
“John Hartwell deserves a lot of credit for going out and hiring one of the best young assistant coaches in the country. Phil was with me for 12 years at Mississippi State and there is no question he will do a terrific job at Troy. Phil is very versed and has a tremendous ability to recruit basketball players. He lives and breathes basketball and there is no question that he is a tireless worker. He has a great ability to evaluate and develop relationships with young men and will have the ability to figure out which kids will fit in best at Troy and help him win championships.”

Dave Telep – ESPN Recruiting
“What really stands out to me about Phil is that he has a real knack for identifying talent and locking in on the decision makers and getting after the guy he wants. He's one of those guys that quietly goes about his business and is always in contention for the best players. He has one of the better eyes for talent and has a real knack for closing situations. It's a real gift and he's done it wherever he's been. He's been around for a long time and he's well prepared to be a head coach. In the Sun Belt, you have to be able to pull players from all different levels, from high school, junior college and prep school. He's intimately familiar with the region he's operating in and can get unique players from three different levels.”

Phil Cunningham Press Conference Transcript

Troy Director of Athletics John Hartwell
“It's a great day to be a Troy Trojan and on behalf of Dr. Hawkins I would like to welcome you. It's a very exciting day in Troy athletics and in Troy basketball history. We started this process 17 days ago it was a Saturday night in Hot Springs after the tournament and Don Maestri decided to retire. We had a very rapid process for the last 17 days and the interest in our men's basketball position has been overwhelming. We had so many inquire and be interested in the position. As I reflected over this, I think there are two reasons why, one this new arena that we are standing in and that we are so proud of. The second is the foundation that Don Maestri and his staff laid for the past 31 years and I would be totally remiss to not send out a huge appreciation to Don and his staff for the work they've done. As we move forward into a new era, a new chapter of Troy basketball we are excited.

First of all, we wanted a winner who had experienced winning at a very high level and a person of character and integrity. Certainly winning is important, at the end of the game we want Troy to have more points on the scoreboard, but somebody outside of this arena who represents us well and certainly as I've talked to so many people in higher education, when you mention Phil Cunningham you hear hard work and character.

Certainly, X's and O's are important, but you've got to have players. Phil has a track record for being one of the best recruiters in the nation. He's recruited for Lefty Driesell and Rick Stansbury, some of the best in the business. I got to talk to Jarvis Varnardo or Arnett Moultrie, they talk about this person being one of the primary reasons they attended Mississippi State.

A teacher, Phil comes from a long history of coaches and teachers. His mom was a teacher and his dad was a legendary coach at a NAIA school in Kentucky.

Finally, we wanted someone that fit Troy. As we looked at candidates that spanned assistant coaches and head coaches from across the nation, we wanted someone who fit a part of the Troy family. As I heard Phil talk to the team at the 7 a.m. meeting this morning, he said we will not have any 'me' in this team, we will have 'we'. That's what Troy is about, no one is bigger than Troy itself. I'm very excited about the future of Troy men's basketball and it being in the hands of Coach Phil Cunningham.”

Troy Men's Basketball Head Coach Phil Cunningham
“Thank you, John, It's a tremendous honor and privilege to be the new head men's basketball coach at troy. When you look at this arena and the detail that was put into it is unbelievable. This just shows the kind of commitment to athletics and in particular basketball at Troy. This facility is going to sell itself and help so much. I thank you for all being here and for your support.

It's an honor and privilege. I want to thank all of those who are in attendance. I want to thank some people individually. I want to thank John and Dr. Hawkins. One thing that stood out about Dr. Hawkins, he is a man of high character and the things he addressed me with, he showed that he is a man of high character and integrity. He never mentioned winning, but he talked about work ethic. He realy stressed work ethic and he talked about how this university has a widespread quality that everybody here isn't looking for others to do things, we are going to go to work and will roll up our sleeves and get it done.

I've met with John; we've been meeting and communicating since this job became open. We were together at Georgia State, it's probably been 16, 17 years ago and we formed a friendship there. He was the associate AD in charge of business. One thing that stood out about John is high level of intelligence. John was efficient and when he said something you knew it would be true. He was sharp and things would get done. When he and Heather came here in the fall I knew he would do big things at Troy. You've got the right man here. He's about the combinations of academics, as well, as athletics. I've seen him progress when he was at Ole Miss and I was at Mississippi State. When he came to Troy, it was a no-brainer for me to come to Troy and work with John again.

Talking about Troy University, what stands out is the foundation of this University, the roots of the University is that of a teacher's college. When I think about teachers, I think about teachers who want to help one another. They don't teach for money, glory or fame, they come to teach people. I come from a family of coaches and teachers. I appreciate the fact that the roots of the university comes from a background of a teacher's college. People seem to be about helping others and moving forward together. That struck me about Troy.

The other thing that stood out is the rich athletics history spread over a lot of sports. If you want to look at a school as a college administrator, Troy wrote the book on how to move upward and win championships. It says a lot about the university and the fan base and the tradition here. The thing from a basketball perspective, when I was at Georgia State, there wasn't a whole lot of places in the old Transamerica Conference. If you remembers those old days there weren't a lot of exciting places to play in, but the one place that scared us was Sartain Hall. You want to play somewhere with an exciting atmosphere. Troy has always been in the back of my mind when moving up the ladder as an assistant coach. Sartain Hall stuck in the back in my mind because the atmosphere that it had.

The next thing that comes to mind is that it's really a privilege that I'm following Don Maestri who's been a friend and more like a mentor. The one thing that stands out to me about Coach Maestri is that he treated me just like he treated Coach Driesell. He didn't treat me any differently. As I got to know him over the years, I think that's the way he treated everybody and that's one of the qualities that I hope my family developed into me was humility. That's what I respect about Don Maestri, he's as humble as it gets. He developed a great program and you knew when you played Troy you were going to be in for a dog fight. He called me this morning and I wanted to tell him to be part of this, to be a part of Troy. He has an open invitation to be a part of this. He and Coach Felix were a tag-team and I respect that about them and the program they built.

There is one man we are definitely going to hire and that's Ben Fletcher. Day one when I began to talking to John, he was so aggressive about having Ben. John (Hartwell) understands basketball and I trust John and he sold me on Ben. I know Ben as a player and have coached against him. I've talked to so many people and when Ben's name comes up people tell me you've got to keep Ben. Ben is a product of this program and this university. He's a guy that when you get a degree you want to be like Ben. I used the example, if Ben walked into a meeting full of the science department, he could handle and talk to those and work with them just like in a locker room.

As we look to moving forward and how to move forward, as an assistant coach you better be good at recruiting. You better work hard and work smart. I've worked for five or six different head coaches and I've worked for Lefty Driesell at James Madison and Georgia State and Coach Rick Stansbury for 12 years at Mississippi State. We've got to go out there and hit the ground. It's the lifeline of any program. We've got to be good at recruiting and we've got to get guys who want to graduate and be the best basketball player that they can be.

From a basketball standpoint, the catch phrase I will use with the players is that in the areas we can control, we've got to have an effort level that is off the charts. We have to have an effort level that is always 10-for-10. 5-for-10 we are not going to be able to get it, 7-for-10 is not going to cut it. Recruiting is effort. There are 24 hours a day and however many we've got to work to get the best players we can get we've got to do it.

From an effort level we can control how hard we play, how hard we work in the offseason, how hard our coaches work in preparation. In academics, going to study hall and working to get degrees. Our effort level is going to be 10-for-10 in everything we do.

From a basketball point-of-a-view, I'm an up-tempo, I'm a man-to-man defense kind of guy, but what you will see from our team is three things: togetherness, I want it to be about the team, not about me or the players, but the team. We've got to coach that every day. We are going to be together offensively, defensively. There is nothing I hate more than arrogance.

Second, I want us to be competitive. Like John said, there is a scoreboard for a reason. I want everything we do, starting today, is that there a winner and a loser. We've got to develop a mentality that we are going to win everything. We're going to be mentally and physically tough, but we've got to be competitive.

Another thing from a basketball perspective is that our team is going to be skilled. I think there a lot of teams that have done a great job with skill developing. That's a different type of area, but skill development is huge to me. If it takes all of us, staying after practice for an hour we are going to do it. ”

Troy University Athletics

Phil Cunningham Named Troy University Men’s Basketball Head Coach

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