Ernie Nestor (August 19, 1946 – January 26, 2025) was an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach, formerly an assistant coach at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. Head coach

Frank Haith Frank James Haith Jr. (born November 3, 1965) is an American men's basketball coach, currently serving as an assistant coach at Texas A&M University. He previously served as head coach of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2014 to 2022, and prior to ...

named Nestor to this post in April, 2011. He was formerly the head coach of the

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

and George Mason men's basketball teams.Ernie Nestor done after six seasons as Elon Phoenix coach - ESPN
/ref> Nestor, a native of

Philippi, West Virginia Philippi ('FILL-uh-pea') is a city in and the county seat of Barbour County, West Virginia, United States, along the Tygart Valley River. The population was 2,929 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 1861, the city was the site of th ...

, was a long-time assistant at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

, including an eight-year stint for head coach

Dave Odom George David Odom (born October 9, 1942) is an American retired men's college basketball coach. He served as the head coach of the East Carolina Pirates, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and South Carolina Gamecocks. Playing career Odom began h ...

. He was also on the coaching staffs of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

during his career.

Life and career

Nestor was born on August 19, 1946. He began his head coaching career at John D. Bassett High School in

Bassett, Virginia Bassett is a census-designated place (CDP) in Henry County, Virginia, Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,100 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Martinsville micropolitan area. The town was founded along a rail line ...

, where he coached from 1970 to 1976.Ernie Nestor Profile - South Carolina Official Athletic Site
/ref> For 14 seasons (1979–1985, 1993–2001) Nestor served as a Wake Forest assistant; Odom was the head coach during his second of two stints. The Demon Deacons won two Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament titles (

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

), and reached the final eight of the

1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1996, and ended with the champio ...

in his time there. In addition, the team won the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. The U.S. 1996

William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

team was coached by Nestor. From May 12, 1988, to March 8, 1993, Nestor was head coach at

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

. In 1989, George Mason gained an NCAA Tournament berth under Nestor by winning the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

's postseason tournament; it was the first NCAA Tournament participation for the program. After losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, the Patriots finished the year 20–11. The 1990 team also reached the 20-victory plateau. He resigned after five years and a 68–81 record at George Mason before joining Odom on his staff at Wake Forest in 1993. Nestor's 2008 Elon team, the seventh seed in the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

postseason tournament, made it to the finals, where Davidson defeated them. In 2009, he resigned (or was fired) after six seasons at the helm for Elon. He served as a scout for the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

from 2009 to 2010 before returning to the college ranks as Director of Basketball Operations for

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

for the 2010–11 season. After one season, Nestor left the Missouri program to take an assistant coaching position at

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

. Nestor died on January 26, 2025, at the age of 78.

Head coaching record

College

References