Chris Mooney (basketball)
 Mooney coaching a game in February, 2013 | |
| Sport(s) | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Richmond |
| Conference | Atlantic 10 |
| Record | 207–166 (.555) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
August 7, 1972 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Playing career | |
| 1990–1994 | Princeton |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1994–1997 | Lansdale Catholic HS |
| 1997–2000 | Beaver College |
| 2000–2004 | Air Force (asst.) |
| 2004–2005 | Air Force |
| 2005–present | Richmond |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 249–205 (.548) |
Christopher Scott Mooney (born August 7, 1972) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Richmond. Prior to taking the helm of the Spiders basketball program, he was the head coach at Air Force. In his only year there, he led the Falcons to their second best record in school history (18–12). He played college basketball at Princeton. As a four-year starter at Princeton, he ranks 22nd on the school's all-time leading scoring list with 1,071 points, and 11th in three point field goals made (142).[1]
Early years and college
Mooney was born and raised in working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, spending his high school years at Archbishop Ryan High School as the child of a single father after his mother died from breast cancer when he was 13 years old.[2] Mooney's father was a Greyhound bus driver.[2]
In 1990, Mooney enrolled at Princeton University, majoring in English and playing basketball for legendary coach Pete Carril.[3] Mooney was a four-year starter at Princeton, starting all 107 games in his career and amassing 1,071 points, good for 20th place in program history.[4] He finished second for Rookie of the Year in the Ivy League as a freshman and received honorable mention all-conference honors as a sophomore, First Team All-Ivy League honors as a junior and Second Team All-Ivy League honors in his senior year.[4]
Coaching career
Mooney began his coaching career fresh out of college at Lansdale Catholic High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. In 1997, Mooney took the helm of the program at Beaver College, now known as Arcadia University. After three years at Beaver, Mooney took an assistant coaching position under Joe Scott at the United States Air Force Academy. When Scott left to take the head coaching position at Princeton University in 2004, Mooney was elevated to the head position at Air Force. After one season at Air Force, Mooney became head coach at the University of Richmond, where he has been for ten seasons.
The University of Richmond announced on March 27, 2011 following a run to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament that Mooney had signed a new contract running through the 2020–21 season.[5]
Personal life
Mooney is married to the former Lia Chomat, also a Princeton graduate; the couple have a son, Danny, born in 2009. and a son Ryan[4]
Mooney's personal qualities may be best illustrated by an episode that began during the 2007–08 school year. After a preseason workout in mid-September, Spiders student manager Robyn Jacobs (now Sordelett), who had just begun her senior year at UR, was told that her father had committed suicide. She immediately told Mooney's wife, and both went into his office. Mooney then bought plane tickets for himself and Jacobs to return to her home in Connecticut. He flew back to Richmond the next day, and took another trip to Connecticut for the funeral. When Jacobs returned to UR three weeks after her father's death, Mooney invited her to live with him and his wife for the rest of her senior year. After Jacobs was engaged several years later, she asked Mooney to give her away at her September 2012 wedding. The entire Mooney family was involved in the wedding—his wife was one of the bridesmaids, and their young son was ringbearer.[6]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Knights (Pennsylvania Athletic Conference) (1998–2000) | |||||||||
| 1998–99 | Beaver | 8–17 | 7–9 | 6th | |||||
| 1999–2000 | Beaver | 16–10 | 12–4 | 2nd | |||||
| Beaver: | 24–27 (.471) | 19–13 (.594) | |||||||
| Air Force Falcons (Mountain West Conference) (2004–2005) | |||||||||
| 2004–05 | Air Force | 18–12 | 9–5 | 3rd | |||||
| Air Force: | 18–12 (.600) | 9–5 (.643) | |||||||
| Richmond Spiders (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2005–present) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Richmond | 13–17 | 6–10 | T–11th | |||||
| 2006–07 | Richmond | 8–22 | 4–12 | T–12th | |||||
| 2007–08 | Richmond | 16–15 | 9–7 | T–4th | CBI First Round | ||||
| 2008–09 | Richmond | 20–16 | 9–7 | T–5th | CBI Semifinals | ||||
| 2009–10 | Richmond | 26–9 | 13–3 | 3rd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | Richmond | 29–8 | 13–3 | 3rd | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Richmond | 16–16 | 7–9 | T–9th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Richmond | 19–15 | 8–8 | T–8th | CBI Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2013–14 | Richmond | 19–14 | 8–8 | 7th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Richmond | 21–14 | 12–6 | T–4th | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2015–16 | Richmond | 16–16 | 7–11 | 9th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Richmond | 4–4 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Richmond: | 207–166 (.555) | 96–84 (.533) | |||||||
| Total: | 249–205 (.548) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
- ↑ Princeton Men's Basketball Record Book
- 1 2 Litos, Michael (4 October 2010). "Chris Mooney's Graceful Toughness Rebuilds Richmond into Threat". AOL News. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ↑ Jerardi, Dick (23 March 2011). "Success heads resume of Richmond coach Mooney". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- 1 2 3 "Men's Basketball Coaches: Chris Mooney". University of Richmond Sports Information. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
- ↑ Mooney Signs 10-Year Contract At Richmond Archived July 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ O'Neil, Dana (October 9, 2012). "Chris Mooney's immeasurable impact". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2012.