Richard Williams (born August 22, 1945) is a former American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach. He most recently served as a special assistant to the head coach at

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

Early life

Williams was born in

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

and attended

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

as a freshman in 1963. Williams began his coaching career as a volunteer coach for seventh grade basketball while working as a math teacher. He worked in a variety of positions in coaching in schools such as Montelbello Junior High and South Natchez. He served as a part-time coach on the staff of Bob Boyd beginning in 1984.

Coaching career

Williams was hired in March 1986. He served as the head men's basketball coach at

through the 1997–98 season, compiling a record of 191–163. His 191 victories are the second most of any head coach in

Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball The Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball program represents Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, in men's NCAA Division I basketball. The Bulldogs play in the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State has qualified for ...

program, history, bested only by his former assistant,

Rick Stansbury Richard Lee Stansbury (born December 23, 1959), is an American college basketball coach who most recently was an assistant coach at the Memphis Tigers men's basketball, University of Memphis. He was the head coach at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers ...

. Williams's 1991 squad won the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

regular season championship and made the

1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1991 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, 1991, and ended with the champion ...

for the first time since 1963 and just second time in school history, where they lost in the first round to

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

. During his tenure, the Bulldogs beat Kentucky for the first time in school history, doing so in the 1994-95 season. His 1995 squad made the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, but his 1996 squad would go further. The Bulldogs won the

1996 SEC men's basketball tournament The 1996 SEC men's basketball tournament took place from March 7–10, 1996, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Mississippi State Bulldogs won the tournament title and received the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tourna ...

with an 84-73 victory over Kentucky (who had not lost an SEC game all season) to win their first SEC title and first overall conference tournament since 1923. Playing as a 5 seed in the Southeast Region of the Division I tournament, they beat 12-seed VCU 58–51 and 13-seed Princeton 63–41 to face the #1 seed Connecticut in the Sweet Sixteen. They won 60–55 to set their first Elite Eight matchup against #2 seed Cincinnati. They beat the Bearcats 73-63 to win the Regional championship. In the Final Four, they were matched against

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, who beat them 77–69. The team was the first (and currently only) team from the state of Mississippi to reach the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Tournament. He received two SEC Coach of the Year awards. On March 12, 1998, Williams resigned as the head coach at Mississippi State two years removed from his Final Four appearance, citing burnout.
/ref> After leaving Mississippi State, Williams coached the

Memphis Houn'Dawgs Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA), the Jackson Rage of the

World Basketball Association The World Basketball Association (WBA) was a semi-professional men's spring basketball league in the United States. The league suspended operations after the 2013 season. History The WBA was conceived in 2009, with seven teams scheduled to play. ...

(WBA), and at his alma mater, Pearl High School in

Pearl, Mississippi Pearl is a city located in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States, on the east side of the Pearl River across from the state capital Jackson. The population was 27,115 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropoli ...

. He served as the director of basketball administration at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

(UAB) in 2008 and in 2009 he was named the director of basketball administration and program coordinator for the

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball program, nicknamed the Dunkin' Dogs, represents intercollegiate men's basketball at Louisiana Tech University. The program competes in Conference USA in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

team on a volunteer basis. Williams was an assistant coach for

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

under John Brady from 2010 to 2014. Williams served as the color commentator for the Mississippi State basketball team's radio broadcasts from the 2014–15 season through the 2019–2020 season.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Richard 1945 births Living people American men's basketball coaches Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Mississippi State University alumni

Early life

Coaching career

Head coaching record

College

See also

References