Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 1, 1993 TAG: 9304010223
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
NEW UR COACH, BUT NO CHANGES
Bill Dooley became the University of Richmond's basketball coach Wednesday, and he vowed to continue the tradition that has made the Spiders one of the giant-killers of college basketball."You don't fix what's not broken. The system has worked here for many, many years, and it will continue to work," Dooley said at a news conference called to introduce him as Dick Tarrant's successor.
Dooley, a Richmond graduate who turns 33 today, spent the past eight years as an assistant to Tarrant. He is not related to former football coaches Bill and Vince Dooley.
When Tarrant retired March 9, he and his players enthusiastically supported Dooley to be named as his successor.
Despite those endorsements, athletic director Chuck Boone said he first wanted to see if there were any current head coaches who might fit the job.
"There were an abundance of high-quality applicants," Boone said. "I'm pleased with the process and how it ended."
Dooley replaces the man who in 12 years led Richmond to a 239-126 record, the school's only five NCAA Tournament appearances and its only four berths in the National Invitation Tournament.
Along the way, the Spiders developed a reputation as a team the powerhouses of college basketball did not want to meet, especially in the NCAA Tournament.
In 1991, Tarrant's Spiders became the first No. 15 seed in the history of the 64-team NCAA tournament to defeat a No. 2 seed when they knocked off Syracuse in the opening round of the East Region.
Other NCAA Tournament victims included Indiana, Georgia Tech and Auburn.
"Dick Tarrant did a monumental job here," said Dooley, who, like his predecessor, had no previous collegiate head coaching experience before getting the Richmond job. "For me to come in here and say I'm going to do just as good a job as Dick or a better job than Dick would be ridiculous in my eyes."
Dooley said he planned no major changes in the program. "Dick's system is my system, so to speak," he said.