Episode 175: Bob Richey, Basketball is a Game of Connection

Guest: Bob Richey, Furman Basketball Head Coach

In this week's coaching conversation, Furman head coach Bob Richey joins the Basketball Podcast to discuss basketball as a game of connection and ideas on building a program.

During his time at the helm of the Paladin program, Richey has guided the Paladins to a 73-26 overall record and 41-13 mark in Southern Conference play. The Paladins have posted back-to-back 25-win seasons and claimed four straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. His .737 winning percentage ranks ninth among active Division I head coaches.

Richey guided the Paladins to a 25-7 overall record and 15-3 Southern Conference mark in 2019-20 as the Paladins posted a school-record for victories for a second consecutive season. Furman finished the season at No. 74 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Rankings and No. 81 in the Pomeroy Ratings. Jordan Lyons, a College Insider Mid-Major All-American, earned first-team All-SoCon honors while Clay Mounce and Noah Gurley received third-team all-league accolades. Lyons finished his Furman career as the winningest player in school history with 96 victories.

Under his leadership, the 2018-19 Paladins reached new heights with a school record of 25 wins, including victories over defending national champion and eighth-ranked Villanova and 2018 NCAA Final Four participant Loyola Chicago. Furman finished the season with a 25-8 overall record, 13-5 league mark, and earned the school's first trip to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) since 1991.

Richey's coaching career began at Charleston Southern in 2006, where he served on Barclay Radebaugh's staff until 2011. He joined the Furman staff under Jeff Jackson in 2011 and was retained as an assistant coach under Niko Medved. He served in the role until 2017 when he was elevated to interim head coach after Medved accepted the head coaching position at Drake.

Breakdown

1:00 - The Culture

6:00 - Player Development

8:00 - Adapt to Circumstances

10:00 - FOMO Perspective

12:00 - Decision Making will Overwhelm You

15:00 - Values Statement

20:00 - Offensive Cutting

25:00 - Physics and Limiting Beliefs

32:00 - The Truth

36:00 - Game of Connection

42:00 - Structure to Unstructured