 |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 9, 1950 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. Francis Prep (Brooklyn, New York) |
| College | Boston College (1968–1971) |
| NBA draft | 1971: 4th round, 53rd overall pick |
| Selected by the Buffalo Braves | |
| Playing career | 1971–1975 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 44, 3, 14 |
| Coaching career | 1977–2014 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1971 | Pittsburgh Condors |
| 1972–1973 | Kentucky Colonels |
| 1974–1975 | San Diego Conquistadors |
| As coach: | |
| 1977–1982 | Connecticut (assistant) |
| 1982–1986 | St. Bonaventure |
| 1986–1997 | Boston College |
| 1997–2004 | Ohio State |
| 2011–2014 | Emerson |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As coach:
| |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
James J. O'Brien (born April 9, 1950)[1][2] is an American college basketball coach who has served as coach of St. Bonaventure University (1982–1986), Boston College (1986–1997), Ohio State University (1997–2004) and Emerson College, a Division III school in Boston (2011–2014).
O'Brien was hired as Ohio State head coach on April 7, 1997, after the firing of previous coach Randy Ayers. O'Brien guided the Buckeye program to the 1999 Final Four, 2000 and 2002 Big Ten regular-season co-championships, the 2002 Big Ten tournament Championship, four 20-win seasons and a school-record four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (1999–2002).
Ohio State later had to vacate all wins from 1999 to 2002, remove all references to team accomplishments for those years, and pay back all tournament money due to rules violations during O'Brien's tenure. On June 8, 2004, then-Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger fired O'Brien for alleged NCAA rules violations. The Ohio Court of Claims determined that Ohio State breached its contract with O'Brien by terminating him and awarded him $2.4 million. However, O'Brien was initially given an NCAA "show-cause" order effectively banning him from coaching from 2006 to 2008, and only returned to coaching in 2011.
- ^ Paulk, Ralph. Jim O'Brien: Bucking the Odds. Sports Publishing: 2001. p. 33.
- ^ "Jim O'Brien". Ohio State Buckeyes. Archived from the original on August 8, 2004.