Head Coach Herb Magee
Coach Magee on ESPN Sportscenter
Head Coach Herb Magee enters his 44th season in 2010-11 at the helm of the Philadelphia University basketball program. On Saturday (2/13/10), Coach Magee hit a new coaching milestone, securing his 900th win in an exciting 81-77 victory over #7 East regionally-ranked Bloomfield College and just three games later, on Tuesday (2/23/10) he surpassed Bobby Knight and became the all-time winningest NCAA men's basketball coach (in NCAA wins) with a 76-65 victory over Goldey-Beacom.
Entering the 2010-11 season, he holds a 907-354 overall coaching record-all at PhilaU.
A coaching icon, Magee set the record for most wins in NCAA Division II men's basketball on February 1st, 2007, surpassing the mark of 828 held by legendary Winston-Salem State Head Coach Clarence "Big House" Gaines.
During the 2008-09 academic year, Magee received two distinct
honors: in May '09 he was presented with the honorary degree
of Doctor of Humane Letters at the PhilaU Commencement ceremony and
in November '08 he was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports
Hall of Fame.
A two-time All-America selection as a player with the Rams, Magee
finished his career as the school's all-time leading scorer with
2,235 points. While he has since been passed by Randy Stover (2,369
points) in 1992 and Tayron Thomas (2,414) in 2006, Magee still
holds the school record for scoring average in a season when he
poured in 29.1 ppg in the 1961-62 season. Along the way, the Rams
posted a 75-17 record that included the Eastern Regional
Championship in 1963 under Head Coach Bucky Harris.
For his efforts, he was inducted into the Philadelphia
University Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Athletic Hall of Fame in
2004. Following graduation, Magee was drafted by the Boston
Celtics with the 62nd pick of the 1963 NBA draft. However, he opted
for a career in coaching and he joined his mentor, Harris, as an
assistant coach at then-Philadelphia Textile.
Magee, who takes a career coaching record of 907-354 (.719) into
the 2010-11 season, took over the head coaching job in 1967 at the
age of 25 and guided the Rams to a 21-6 record in his first season.
In his second season, Textile posted yet another 20-win season,
going 20-5, but it was his third year as head coach that made
history.
After losing two of their first three contests to begin the
1969-70 season, Magee's Rams won 28 straight games en route to the
NCAA National Championship. In the title game, the Rams defeated
Tennessee State, 76-65, and the team finished with a 29-2 mark. For
the season, the Rams' average margin of victory was 24.5
points.
In his 43 years as head coach, Magee has taken his team to the NCAA
Tournament 25 times. In addition, he has had 30 twenty-plus
win seasons and one 30-win season. As a player, assistant coach and
head coach at the University, Magee has helped the program to an
overall record of 1,144-382.
His exploits as a coach have not gone unnoticed, as his list of
awards and achievements can attest. In 2010, Coach Magee was chosen
to throw out the first pitch of the Philadelphia Phillies opening
game, and was honored by the Philadelphia 76ers at a halftime
ceremony. Mayor Nutter also honored 'The King' in a City Hall
presentation. Other honors have included: the Kodak District
Coach of the Year in 1993, New York Collegiate Athletic Conference
Coach of the Year that ('93, '94,'03). In addition, he has been
honored as regional Coach of the Year four times, national Coach of
the Year once and Co-Coach of the Year in the Mideast Collegiate
Conference twice. He was also inducted into the Pennsylvania
Sports Hall of Fame in 1979.
In 2007, Magee was honored at the NCAA Division I Final Four
with the NABC's Guardian of the Game Award. He was nominated for
induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in
2006. He was also inducted into the Philadelphia Area Small College
Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
Additionally, Magee frequently works with NBA players from around
the league on the art of shooting, including Hall of Famer Charles
Barkley, current Orlando Magic standout Jameer Nelson, Boston
Celtics Guard Sebastian Telfair and New York Knicks Forward Malik
Rose. He is also a popular speaker at camps and clinics, and
released his most recent video, "Nothing But Net," in 2001. He has
also had numerous former assistant coaches and players who have
gone on to take head coach and assistant coaching jobs at other
colleges and high schools.
Magee played high school basketball at Philadelphia's famed West
Catholic High, where his teammates included former Philadelphia
76ers Head Coach Jim Lynam and former Saint Joseph's coach Jim
Boyle. Magee received a Bachelor of Science in marketing from the
University in 1963 and a master's in education from Saint Joseph's
University in 1969, along with an honorary doctorate from PhilaU in
2009. Magee and his wife, Geri, live in Berwyn, Pa.
For more information, including Herb Magee's basketball training and shooting DVDs, visit www.HerbMagee.com.
Assistant Coach Jimmy Reilly
Jimmy Reilly enters his fourth season on head coach Herb Magee's staff in 2010-11.
He spent the previous two seasons as an assistant at Neumann College under their former head coach and former Rams' assistant Corey Stitzel. Prior to his time at Neumann, Reilly was an assistant coach at his collegiate alma mater, Ursinus College, from 1999-2001. As a basketball player for the Bears, Reilly was a two-time captain and was named team MVP in his senior season of 1998-'99. He also spent time as an assistant coach from 2003-'05 at his high-school alma mater, West Catholic High School in Philadelphia. As a Burr, Reilly was a Philadelphia All-Catholic basketball performer. His diverse basketball experience also includes internship stints in the offices of the Philadelphia 76ers and WIP Sports Radio 610 in Philadelphia.
Reilly graduated with a degree in communications from Ursinus in 1999. In addition to his coaching duties at the University, Reilly currently works in the marketing department at Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Newtown Square, PA.
Dick DeLaney returns to the PhilaU bench as an assistant coach for the 2010-11 season, his second year as an assistant under Coach John DiMeglio.
DeLaney previously retired as West Chester University's Men's Head Basketball Coach in June of 2008 after 21 seasons at the helm. He left the position as the school's all-time wins leader in men's basketball coaching history, compiling a record of 370-213 (.635).
A 1969 graduate of WCU, DeLaney guided the Golden Rams to 17 winning seasons (eight 20-win seasons), winning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) coach of the year honors five times, producing four PSAC Eastern Division titles and earning five NCAA playoff berths.
DeLaney taught and coached at PhilaU from 1975-1987. During his tenure at the school, he worked as an assistant men's basketball coach under Magee. He also coached baseball, tennis and was an assistant soccer coach.
He is a member of the West Chester University Athletic Hall of Fame (as both an athlete and coach), the Philadelphia University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Area Small College Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Shawn Werdt enters his second third on the Ram's coaching staff in 2010-11.
Prior to joining the Ram staff, he spent time coaching the Kennett Square Boy's varsity and junior varsity teams. He also worked as a strength and conditioning coach at Summit Sports Training Center, training numerous college and professional athletes. Werdt has worked as a basketball camp director and counselor at several boy's basketball camps, most notably the Pocono Invitational.
He attended West Chester University, where he helped the team to a PSAC East Division title as well as three postseason appearances. He was a two-year starter for the team and is currently third all-time in single season three- pointers made and fifth all-time in three-point field goal percentage. He graduated with a health science degree, and a minor in coaching.
Werdt attended Blue Mountain High School and resides in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia
215-951-2724
Bill Phillips joins the Philadelphia University coaching staff for the 2010-11 season after a stellar playing career at both St. Joseph's University and as a professional player overseas.
Phillips played professionally for several European teams, including Carmatic Pistoia (Italy) from 2009-10, Leche Rio Breogan (Spain) from 2008-09, LTI Giessen 46ers (Germany) in 2008 and Lleida Basket (Spain) from 2006-07. He also played for Basket Livorno (Italy), Paris Basket Racing (France), Granada (Spain), TAU Ceramica (Spain) and Maroussi BC (Greece). He began his professional career with the Miami Heat in the NBA Summer League in 2002.
Phillips also played for the French National Team in 2002.
As a collegiate player, Phillips’ accolades speak for themselves: St. Joseph’s University Basketball Hall of Fame member (April, 2010), Atlantic 10 ‘Student-Athlete of the Year’ (2001, 2002), Academic All American 2nd Team (2001-02), Academic All-American 3rd Team (2000-01), All A-10 2nd Team (2000-01, 2001-02), All Big 5 2nd Team (2000-01, 2001-02) and SJU team captain (2001-02).
Before SJU, Phillips played the 1997-98 season at The College of William and Mary where he was named to the Colonial Athletic Association All-Freshman Team (1998).
Phillips received his B.A. in Finance, Cum Laude from SJU in 2001 and also earned a M.S. in financial services from SJU in 2002. He currently resides in East Norriton, PA with his wife Amber.
Kay Magee begins her first year as the Director of Basketball Operations at Philadelphia University in 2010-11.
