|
 Ricky
Stokes was appointed the 21st head men's basketball
coach at East Carolina University by director of
athletics Terry Holland on Wednesday, March 16,
2005.
Stokes, who has played an active role on coaching
staffs which have made nine NCAA Tournament
appearances since 1991, including two Sweet Sixteen
and one Elite Eight showing, will officially ended a
two-year assistant coaching position at South
Carolina after the Gamecocks' captured the 2005
National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title.
"Ricky has spent his whole life proving that it does
not matter what your size may be or what other
people think, as long as you believe in yourself and
do things the right way," said Holland. "Two Final
Fours and the Francis Pomeroy Naismith Award as the
nation's top collegian under six feet as well as his
work in helping to build nationally competitive
programs at four different institutions as a coach
clearly show that his approach brings success for
everyone involved."
A 13-time NCAA Tournament veteran and two-time Final
Four contributor as both a player and assistant
coach, Stokes also arrives at East Carolina with
four years of head coaching experience -- directing
Virginia Tech's growth and competitiveness from the
Atlantic 10 Conference (1999-2000) to the Big East
Conference (2000-2003) while guiding the Hokies to
46 victories.
Stokes recruited the core of this season's Virginia
Tech team, which finished in fourth place in the
Atlantic Coast Conference and received a bid to the
NIT under first-year head coach Seth Greenberg, who
was voted 2005 ACC Coach of the Year.
After completing an illustrious playing career at
Virginia, which included three consecutive ACC
championships and four straight NCAA Tournament
appearances, Stokes initiated his full-time coaching
career with a one-year stay at Bowling Green
(1988-89) before joining Dave Odom's first staff at
Wake Forest in 1989.
During his eight seasons in Winston-Salem, Stokes
was credited with recruiting and/or coaching
notables such as 1997 College Player-of-the-Year Tim
Duncan and NBA first-round picks Randolph Childress
and Rodney Rogers. In addition, he was also
responsible for the recruitment of McDonald's
All-America center Loren Woods and 1997-98 ACC
Freshman-of-the-Year Robert O'Kelley. Stokes'
expertise in tutoring and developing stellar guard
play was evident in the success of All-America
honoree Childress and fellow backcourt mates Marc
Blucas, Derrick McQueen, Anthony Tucker, Rusty LaRue,
Tony Rutland and Jerry Braswell.
During Stokes' eight-year stay at Wake Forest, the
Demon Deacons advanced to the NCAA Tournament seven
times, which included an Elite Eight appearance in
1995-96 and a pair of Sweet Sixteen nods in 1992-93
and 1994-95.
Stokes returned to his alma mater, accepting an
assistant's position at Virginia under former
college teammate Jeff Jones during the 1997-98
campaign before joining Rick Barnes' staff at
Clemson just two weeks before Barnes' accepted the
head coaching position at Texas. He followed Barnes
to Austin, where he spent the 1998-99 season as
associate head coach and played an integral role in
helping the Longhorns to a 19-13 overall record, a
13-3 Big 12 Conference mark, which included the
school's first-ever basketball league title, and a
NCAA first-round showing. Despite his relocation to
an unfamiliar Southwest geographic area, Stokes'
relentless recruiting efforts resulted in the
signing of three of the top 10 players in the state
of Texas during the fall signing period.
During his memorable playing career at Virginia,
Stokes played in a school-record 134 consecutive
games and helped lead the Cavaliers to a 109-25
(.813) overall mark and a 43-13 (.768) ACC record
en-route to three straight league championships
(1980-81, 1981-82 and 1982-83). As a freshman in
1980-81, he played point guard for UVa's Final Four
squad which also marked the beginning of four
consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. In fact,
the Cavs earned the No. 1 tourney seed in each of
the last three years of the Ralph Sampson Era
(1980-83).
Despite Sampson's departure, Stokes sharpened his
leadership skills even more as the program's
co-captain and guided Virginia to the Final Four in
Seattle, Wash., despite finishing fifth during the
ACC's regular season schedule. He was rewarded for
his determination and play, earning the Virginia
Basketball Leadership Award and, on the national
level, was honored with the Frances Pomeroy Naismith
Award, which is presented annually to the country's
finest player under six-feet tall.
Off the court, Stokes was also recognized for his
contributions to the university as he earned the
honor of residing on The Lawn and was selected to
the prestigious IMP Society.
After earning a bachelor's degree in psychology from
Virginia in 1984, Stokes served as a graduate
assistant coach for the Cavaliers in 1984-85 before
entering private business for two years. He remained
involved in coaching as an assistant at alma mater
Highland Springs (Va.) High School in Richmond while
completing requirements for a master's degree in
counselor education at nearby Virginia Commonwealth
in 1988.
He and wife Karen are the parents of a daughter,
Sydney (9). |
