Former Detroit Assistant is Defensive Wiz

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have named Kevin O'Neill as their new head coach. Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The contract runs through the 2004-05 season with a team option for 2005-06.

"Our thorough search process identified a number of excellent candidates, but it was clear to us that Kevin O'Neill was the best candidate for the strict criteria we had established specific to our organizational needs for a new head coach," said Glen Grunwald, senior vice-president and general manager of the Raptors. "Kevin has a bright basketball mind. He is a tireless worker who will help create a hard work and team-based environment that will lead to our success.

"With Kevin, we feel we will get our organization back on track to our ultimate goal of an NBA championship."

O'Neill, 46, becomes Toronto's fifth head coach following two assistant coaching stints in the NBA where he has established a reputation as a defensive specialist. He spent one season under Jeff Van Gundy in New York (2000-01) and the past two seasons with Rick Carlisle in Detroit. Twice O'Neill's teams have finished first in the league for fewest points allowed. The 2000-01 Knicks held their opponents to 86.1 points a game and last season's Pistons unit allowed an average of just 87.7 points.

"I am excited to be the head coach of Canada's team, the Toronto Raptors," said O'Neill. "As a group we will strive for excellence on a daily basis. I am looking forward to the challenges.

"I appreciate the confidence shown in me by Glen Grunwald, Richard Peddie and Larry Tanenbaum."

As an NBA assistant, O'Neill's teams posted a 148-98 (.602) regular-season record, including back-to-back 50-win seasons in Detroit. They qualified for postseason play all three years, and captured the Central Division title in both his campaigns in Detroit.

O'Neill came to the NBA following 20 seasons as a coach at the collegiate level, the last 11 as a Division I head coach. He began his coaching career at Hammond (N.Y.) High School in 1979.

O'Neill was the head coach at Marquette University from 1989-94 where he recorded an 86-62 mark (.581), including a 44-17 record in his final two seasons. He earned Great Midwest Conference Coach of the Year honours in 1993 and 1994 as his teams led the nation in defensive field goal percentage. His 1994 squad captured the Great Midwest Conference championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. From 1994-97, O'Neill was at the helm of the University of Tennessee. He inherited a Volunteer program that had won only five games the previous campaign and took them to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) two seasons later.

His final NCAA head-coaching foray was at Northwestern University from 1997-2000. In just two seasons, O'Neill led the Wildcats to only the third postseason appearance in school history, qualifying for the 1999 NIT. That season, Northwestern ranked third in the NCAA in defensive field goal percentage and sixth in fewest points allowed.

O'Neill began his collegiate coaching career in 1980 at North County Community College in Saranac, New York. He also made a stop for one season at Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa in 1982. In 14 seasons as a head coach, O'Neill has compiled a 190-197 record (.491).

From 1983-89, O'Neill served as an assistant coach at three universities. He spent two years at the University of Delaware from 1983-85. He moved to the University of Tulsa the following season where the Golden Hurricanes recorded a 23-9 mark and made an NCAA Tournament appearance. He helped the University of Arizona to an 82-19 record in a span of three years from 1986-89. The Wildcats captured the West Regional championship to advance to the 1988 Final Four before bowing to Oklahoma in the semifinal. Regarded as an outstanding recruiter, O'Neill was named the nation's top recruiter in 1989 in a poll conducted of 294 Division I coaches by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

A native of Chateaugay in upstate New York, O'Neill attended McGill University in Montreal where he received a bachelor's degree in education in 1979. He was a three-year letterman for the Redmen basketball team, leading the squad to a 28-5 mark during his sophomore season. He also received his Master's degree in secondary education from Marycrest College in 1983. O'Neill has one son, Sean (16), and currently resides in New York City in the offseason with his wife, Chelsea.


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