Harry Statham

Harry Statham (born May 29, 1937) is a former American basketball coach.

He is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Basketball Hall of Fame.

His 1,122 wins during his 52 seasons at McKendree University of Lebanon, Illinois, are third-most by any men's or women's basketball head coach at a four-year college or university in the United States.

This includes any and all levels or divisions of the NCAA and NAIA.

The only other coaches at a four-year school with 1,000 or more wins are Pat Summitt, Danny Miles, Mike Krzyzewski, Herb Magee, Tara VanDerveer, Geno Auriemma, Jim Boeheim, and Sylvia Hatchell.

Statham was born on May 29, 1937, in Brookport, Illinois.

His father, Harry Statham Sr., died of pneumonia and was buried on the day Statham was born.

Statham was raised by his mother and his grandfather, Rufus Dye, who encouraged his grandson to get an education and to not smoke or drink.

Statham said of his mom, "[She] wanted me to get a college degree. I was raised so that reputation is so important, the family name, strength, honesty, trustworthiness, respectfulness, ambition."

Statham graduated with a bachelor's degree from McKendree College in 1960.

He then enrolled at the University of Illinois, where he served as a graduate assistant for the men's basketball and track teams.

He earned a Master of Science degree in physical education from Illinois.

Statham is married to Rose Statham; they have no children, and live in Belleville, Illinois.

Statham began his coaching career while an undergraduate student at McKendree.

He guided the boys' basketball team at O'Fallon Junior High School in Illinois while taking college courses at night.

From O'Fallon, Statham moved on to coach the varsity boys' basketball team for two seasons at Manito Forman High School (Manito, Illinois).

His 1961-62 squad had a 9–16 record and his 1962-63 squad finished 10–13.

Statham then moved on to Dwight Township High School (Dwight, Illinois) where he coached for three seasons from 1963 to 1966, posting a cumulative win–loss record of 24–45.

In his tenure at McKendree, a member of the American Midwest Conference (AMC), Statham has led the Bearcats to post-season play 40 times in 46 seasons.

Since his first season in 1966-67, Statham's teams have averaged nearly 23 wins per season.

His teams have won 20 or more games 35 times.

McKendree also ranks among the NAIA's top programs in terms of winning percentage over the past decade.

Statham has had 70 players receive post-season accolades.

Ten of those players have earned NAIA All-America honors.

In addition to his coaching duties, from 1966 to May 2010, Statham served as the university's athletic director, and he is an assistant professor of health and human performance.

This Bearcat squad opened the season with 22 straight victories en route to a school-record 35 wins and the University's first-ever NAIA Tournament berth.

In the first round of the tournament, McKendree and its opponent Huron College (S.D.), scored a record 231 points, as the Bearcats triumphed 124–107.

Additionally, Statham has coached three players who were drafted in the professional ranks: Paul Funkhouser, a supplemental pick of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association; Dale Haverman, a fifth-round pick of the Seattle SuperSonics in 1977; and Matt Laur, a fourth round pick of the National Basketball Development League (D-League) draft by the Columbus Riverdragons.

Many McKendree athletes who Statham has coached have gone on to successful coaching careers on both the high school and collegiate levels.

About his players, Statham said, "I always recruit the right kinds of players. We do not want thugs that play good basketball. We want them to be good, solid people. We don't want people that are going to flunk out. We want good people, good students and good basketball players—in that order."

Regarding his coaching philosophy, Statham said, "We do things consistently well. Our program is sound. We're very team-oriented, and we've tried to sell that from the very beginning. When you play hard and play together and do things fundamentally sound, you're going to be competitive. Our primary focus is to play hard, play well and try to do it as a team."

Statham's on-court demeanor does not include yelling and ref-baiting Said Statham, "I don't like the [television] color commentators (saying) how you gotta work the referee and draw a T. We're trying to play the right way. They're out there saying you've got to bend the rules, step out there a little bit. They turn me off, I really don't enjoy that."

Statham has coached McKendree to all 15 of its NAIA national men's basketball championship tournament berths, including five straight appearances from 1999-2004.

The Bearcats defeated two higher-ranked opponents to reach the NAIA Elite Eight, the team's best-ever finish at the national tournament until the success of the 2002-03 team.

McKendree compiled a 34–4 overall record.

A 10–0 mark in the AMC marked the first time that the Bearcats went undefeated in the league.

The combined point total set an NAIA Tournament record that stood until 2006.

Statham led this team to a quarterfinal spot in the NAIA Tournament.

Eric Hobbie, the most recent All-American, garnered first-team NAIA Division I All-America honors in 2009-10 after earning second-team recognition in 2008-09.

On March 7, 2012, Statham was named as one of the coaches on the NAIA 75th Anniversary All-Star Team.