Desmond L. Oliver (born December 4, 1969) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at East Tennessee State University, a position he assumed in 2021.[1]
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | East Tennessee State |
| Conference | Southern |
| Record | 18–18 (.500) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1969-12-04) December 4, 1969 (age 52) Buffalo, New York |
| Playing career | |
| 1988–1989 | Genesee CC |
| 1989–1992 | Dominican (NY) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1994–1997 | Niagara (assistant) |
| 1997–1998 | Texas A&M (assistant) |
| 1998–2000 | Cornell (assistant) |
| 2000–2001 | St. Bonaventure (assistant) |
| 2001–2004 | Rhode Island (assistant) |
| 2004–2009 | Georgia (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | Canisius (assistant) |
| 2010–2015 | Charlotte (assistant) |
| 2015–2021 | Tennessee (assistant) |
| 2021–present | East Tennessee State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 18–18 (.500) |
Oliver played collegiately for one season at Genesee Community College under Bill Van Gundy, the father of Jeff and Stan, before transferring to Dominican College in New York, where he served as a team captain.[2]
In 1994, Oliver began his college coaching career as an assistant at Niagara where he stayed until 1997 before taking an assistant coaching position under Tony Barone at Texas A&M.[3] Oliver would return to New York with stops at Cornell and St. Bonaventure before joining Bonnies' head coach Jim Baron at Rhode Island where he'd stay as an assistant from 2001 to 2004.[3][4] From 2004 to 2009, Oliver was an assistant under Dennis Felton at Georgia and the Bulldogs' 11th place squad that won the 2008 SEC tournament title and the auto bid to the 2008 NCAA tournament.
After his time at Georgia, Oliver briefly served as an assistant coach at Canisius before a five-year stint as an assistant at Charlotte.[5][6] In 2015, Oliver moved on to Tennessee to join Rick Barnes where he'd earn a reputation as one of the top recruiters in college basketball.[7] While with the Volunteers, Oliver was on staff for a SEC regular season title in 2017–18 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2019.[3]
On April 5, 2021 Oliver was named the 18th head coach in East Tennessee State basketball history.[1]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State Buccaneers (Southern Conference) (2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | East Tennessee State | 15–17 | 7–11 | 8th | |||||
| 2022–23 | East Tennessee State | 3–1 | |||||||
| East Tennessee State: | 18–18 (.500) | 7–11 (.389) | |||||||
| Total: | 18–18 (.500) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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Men's basketball head coaches of the Southern Conference | |
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East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball head coaches | |
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