Troy University Athletics
Basketball (M)
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- cahoward@troy.edu
- Phone:
- 3685
Adam Howard is entering his second season with Troy after being part of the 2016-17 squad that captured the Sun Belt Championship for just the second time in school history.
Howard was an instrumental part of a group that won the most games since 2003-04, had the largest wins improvement in school history, won the third-most Sun Belt games ever and had the most non-conference wins since 2002-03.
The Trojans success came in many different forms last season as Jordon Varnado was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team and Wesley Person was named All-Sun Belt Third Team. Troy also had the highest team GPA of all Sun Belt men’s basketball teams for the second consecutive year.
Howard came to Troy from the University of Tennessee where he worked with Josh Richardson, who was the 40th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Richardson was First Team All-SEC, SEC All-Defensive Team and the Defensive All-American Team.
He also signed Kevin Punter to Tennessee. Punter was First Team JUCO All-American and proceeded to score 22 points per game for Tennessee, which was 12th in the nation. His 905 points in two seasons at UT was the most points ever scored at Tennessee by a two-year player.
Prior to Tennessee, Howard made his name at Southern Mississippi. In the two seasons he was there, the Golden Eagles posted a 56-17 record and earned a pair of postseason berths. Three players earned all-conference honors in that span.
Southern Miss posted a school-record 29 wins in 2013-14, claimed a share of the Conference USA championship, had a perfect 15-0 home record and earned a year-end RPI of 29.
The 2012-13 Eagles campaign saw the team go 27-10 and capture the program’s first postseason victories since 1988 as Southern Miss made it to the NIT quarterfinals.
Howard assisted with all aspects of the program, including in-game coaching, practice preparation, recruiting and travel coordination.
His coaching career began at Morehead State, where he was a graduate assistant for one season and a full-time assistant coach for two. He was on board for the 2010-11 season, which saw MSU finish 25-10 overall, 14-1 at home, 13-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference, win the OVC Tournament and upset fourth-seeded Louisville in the NCAA’s round of 64.
Howard worked with two Eagles that season that went on to sign professional contracts. Kenneth Faried, a two-time OVC Player of the Year and the NCAA’s all-time leading rebounder, was taken 22nd overall by the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. Demonte Harper went on to play for KK Cibona VIP Zagreb in Croatia’s top pro league.
Howard joined the Morehead State staff in 2009 as a graduate assistant.
He earned four letters at Western Kentucky from 2004-08. He played for Darrin Horn in college and was part of three post-season appearances at WKU.
The Hilltoppers played in the 2005 NIT’s second round, 2006 NIT’s first round and 2008 NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. His NCAA Tournament squad beat Drake and San Diego before falling to Final Four participant UCLA.
Howard helped Western Kentucky post 96 wins in four seasons and was awarded the Danny Rumph Most Outstanding Teammate award three straight years (2006-2008). The accolade remembers Howard’s former teammate and friend who passed away from cardiomyopathy, which caused heart failure during a pick-up game in 2005.
Prior to joining the Morehead State staff, Howard worked as a counselor at the Freshman All-American Camp for the top 150 freshmen-to-be in the country. He also assisted with the Derek Smith 16U AAU team that summer.
Howard graduated from Paul G. Blazer High School in Ashland (Ky.) and earned his bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Western Kentucky in 2008.
