Pete Strickland

For other people named Peter Strickland, see Peter Strickland.

Pete Strickland

Biographical details
Born	(1957-05-25) May 25, 1957 Newburgh, New York, U.S.
Playing career
1975–1979	Pittsburgh
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1980–1982	Neptune Basketball Club
1983–1984	Mt. St. Michael Academy (asst.)
1984–1987	DeMatha HS (asst.)
1987–1988	Ravenscroft HS
1988–1991	VMI (asst.)
1991–1994	Old Dominion (asst.)
1994–1998	Dayton (asst.)
1998–2005	Coastal Carolina
2005–2011	NC State (asst.)
2011–2013	George Washington (asst.)
2016–2018	Ireland
2021-	DeMatha HS (interim)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Big South Coach of the Year (2000)

Pete Strickland (born May 25, 1957) is an American basketball coach and former college basketball player, currently the interim head coach of DeMatha Catholic High School.

Playing career

Strickland attended DeMatha Catholic High School near Washington, D.C., where he played high school basketball for Morgan Wootten. He then attended the University of Pittsburgh where he played for the Pittsburgh Panthers (1975–1979). With the Panthers, Strickland was a three-year starter and two-year captain.

Player-coach

In 1980, Strickland became player-coach of the Neptune Basketball Club based in Cork, Ireland. Strickland had been recruited to play in Ireland by an international scout who saw him play in an alumni game in Pittsburgh. In his first season as player-coach, Strickland's team went 18–0 and won the league title. In 1981, in preparation for the "Neptune International Basketball Tournament" to be held in March in Cork, Strickland recruited a number of his American friends to form a “Maryland All-Stars" team for the tournament, in exchange for round-trip airline tickets to Ireland. The All-Star team was eliminated from the tournament by a Cork-based team on a last-second three-pointer. That an Irish team was able to defeat an American team was credited with helping to increase the popularity of basketball in Ireland.

Coaching career

Strickland coached at the high school level from 1983 through 1988. He then held assistant coaching roles at the college level from 1988 through 1998. In April 1998, he became head coach at Coastal Carolina University, a role he held until March 2005. His overall record in seven seasons with the Chanticleers was 70–127; the team was 42–56 in the Big South Conference.

Strickland was next an assistant coach at North Carolina State University, from 2005 until he was not retained by Mark Gottfried when Sidney Lowe resigned at the end of the Wolfpack's 2010–11 season. Strickland then served as an assistant coach at George Washington University, from 2011 through 2013.

Strickland was named head coach of the Ireland national team in November 2016. In the 2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, Ireland finished in third place, with an overall record of 2–2 during the tournament.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Coastal Carolina (Big South) (1998–2005)
1998–99	Coastal Carolina	7–20	4–6	4th
1999–00	Coastal Carolina	10–18	7–7	3rd
2000–01	Coastal Carolina	8–20	6–8	4th
2001–02	Coastal Carolina	8–20	5–9	6th (tie)
2002–03	Coastal Carolina	13–15	5–9	7th
2003–04	Coastal Carolina	14–15	8–8	5th
2004–05	Coastal Carolina	10–19	7–9	4th (tie)
Coastal Carolina:		70–127 (.355)	42–56 (.429)
Total:		70–127 (.355)

Sources:

Further reading

• McKenna, Dave (June 29, 2018). "The American Who Briefly Got Ireland To Love Basketball Is Looking For A Storybook Ending". Deadspin. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
• Shannon, Kieran (2009). Hanging from the Rafters: The Story of Neptune and the Golden Age of Irish Basketball. Echo Publications. ISBN 978-0956244321.

External links

• Strictly Speaking (personal website)
• Coaching Record at Sports Reference
• Interview with Cork's Red FM via YouTube