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James
"Bruiser" Flint is now in his sixth season
as Drexel's Head Coach. Flint has
established Drexel as one of the top
programs in the Colonial Athletic
Association since arriving on the
University City campus in 2001. Last year,
Flint led a young team to 15 wins, three
national television appearances and a trip
to Madison Square Garden and a berth in
the NIT Season Tip-Off Semifinals.
A two-time CAA Coach of the Year, Flint's
teams have advanced to the postseason
three times in his first five seasons and
have won at least 11 conference games four
times. Only three other schools in the CAA
have matched that feat during that time.
He has an 83-65 record at the school and
an impressive 56-34 (.622) mark in CAA
play. Flint has already moved into fourth
place in career wins at Drexel. Since his
arrival, the Dragons have had the CAA
Defensive Player of the Year on three
occasions, have had eight All-CAA
selections and seven members of the
conference's All-Defensive team.
Flint recently served his second stint
with USA Basketball. During the summer of
2005, Flint was an Assistant Coach for the
USA Under 21 World Championship Team that
played in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The
team posted a 7-1 record. His first stint
came as a court coach prior to the Global
Games.
During the 2004-05 season, despite key
injuries to a number of players, Drexel
had a 17-12 mark and a 12-6 record in the
CAA. The Dragons had their highest RPI
rating since the Malik Rose years and took
Mid American Conference runner-up Buffalo
to overtime on its home court in the
opening round of the NIT. It was the third
straight time Flint led a Drexel team to
the postseason.
In 2003-04, Flint was named the CAA Coach
of the Year after leading a team picked to
finish in a tie for fourth place to a
second-place finish with a 13-5 league
record. The Dragons won 12 of their last
15 regular-season games and finished just
one game behind Virginia Commonwealth.
Overall, Flint's team finished 18-11 and
advanced to the NIT for the second
straight season. The Dragons lost at
Villanova in the first round.
In his second season, Flint returned the
Dragons to the postseason for the first
time in six years. Drexel won 19 games and
finished with a 12-6 record in the CAA.
The Dragons won two games at the CAA
Tournament and advanced to the
championship game. Drexel lost in the
finals, but was rewarded with a bid to the
National Invitation Tournament, only the
sixth postseason appearance in the
school's history at the time.
Flint, who owns a 169-137 career record,
returned home to his native Philadelphia
when he took over as Drexel's head coach
on April 5, 2001. In his first year, Flint
led a team that was picked to finish ninth
in the CAA to an 11-7 mark, tying them for
third in the league. The Dragons finished
with a 14-14 record. For his efforts,
Flint was named the CAA Men's Basketball
Coach of the Year. Flint picked up his
100th career victory in Drexel's 68-65 win
against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 18, 2002.
Flint arrived at Drexel after a 12-year
stint at UMass. He was an assistant coach
for seven seasons before becoming the
school's 17th head basketball coach. He
compiled an 86-72 career record, including
a 52-28 record in Atlantic 10 Conference
play at UMass. He led three of his teams
to postseason play and was the NABC
District I Co-Coach of the Year in 1998.
Flint was the fastest coach in UMass
history to reach 30 wins and was the
winningest first-year coach ever at UMass.
He spent two seasons as an assistant coach
at Coppin State University before joining
the UMass staff.
A 1987 Saint Joseph's graduate, Flint, 39,
was a four-year letterwinner with the
Hawks. He earned All-Atlantic 10 honors as
a senior and led Saint Joseph's to the
1986 A-10 championship and a berth in the
NCAA Tournament as a junior. The Hawks
also made NIT appearances in 1984 and
1985. He was inducted into the Saint
Joseph's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998 and
graduated with a degree in financial
management.
Flint graduated from nearby Episcopal
Academy in 1983. He was a First Team
All-Philadelphia and Third Team All-State
selection following his senior season.
Flint finished his prep career ranked
second on the Inter-Academic Conference's
all-time scoring and assist lists, and was
named the league's MVP as a senior.
Flint, his wife, Rene, and their daughter,
Jada, reside in Philadelphia.
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