Statham Power: Coach K Still Needs Staying Power to Pass Winning Harry
January 25th, 2015 - 12:34
It doesn't seem right to honor Coach K without at least acknowledging Winning Harry. Harry Statham of Lebanon, Ill.-based McKendree College is the winningest coach in history at the four-year college level, passing North Carolina's Dean Smith during the 2004-05 season. Going beyond 1,000 NAIA victories in 2009-10, Statham compiled only one losing campaign (18-19 in 1983-84) in his first 46 seasons as a head coach until incurring sub-.500 marks each of the last two years. It also didn't seem right that he had a five-game losing streak when Duke's Mike Krzyzewski registered career win No. 1,000.
"No, I never dreamed about (so many triumphs). I never dreamed about 100 wins," said Statham, who boasts an average annual record of 22-9. "It's a good job and a good opportunity and I love what I do. I just try to do things right and everything will take care of itself."
It was not as if it was instant success for Statham, who didn't reach the NAIA Tournament until his 22nd campaign. After his first three seasons with McKendree, Statham tried out the author of this missive for a spot on his roster. Statham never would have reached 100 victories three years later if he didn't look elsewhere and attract better players over the decades en route to assembling the following record-breaking resume:
Season Record NAIA Tourney 1966-67 13-10 DNP 1967-68 20-7 DNP 1968-69 21-6 DNP 1969-70 19-6 DNP 1970-71 15-12 DNP 1971-72 21-7 DNP 1972-73 23-6 DNP 1973-74 24-8 DNP 1974-75 17-9 DNP 1975-76 17-9 DNP 1976-77 21-5 DNP 1977-78 15-11 DNP 1978-79 20-11 DNP 1979-80 22-9 DNP 1980-81 27-7 DNP 1981-82 18-12 DNP 1982-83 20-9 DNP 1983-84 18-19 DNP 1984-85 22-11 DNP 1985-86 22-14 DNP 1986-87 30-5 DNP 1987-88 35-1 1-1 record 1988-89 17-15 DNP 1989-90 20-14 DNP 1990-91 23-9 DNP 1991-92 31-6 0-1 record 1992-93 27-9 0-1 record 1993-94 26-8 DNP 1994-95 27-6 DNP 1995-96 25-9 1-1 record 1996-97 28-9 2-1 record 1997-98 26-8 DNP 1998-99 21-11 DNP 1999-00 25-8 0-1 record 2000-01 27-9 0-1 record 2001-02 30-5 1-1 record 2002-03 34-4 3-1 record 2003-04 24-10 0-1 record 2004-05 25-8 DNP 2005-06 19-14 DNP 2006-07 22-12 1-1 record 2007-08 27-7 1-1 record 2008-09 30-6 2-1 record 2009-10 27-7 0-1 record 2010-11 21-13 1-1 record 2011-12 18-12 DNP 2012-13 7-21 DNP 2013-14 9-17 DNP 2014-15 8-9 TBD 49 years 1,085-460 13-15 record