ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After surpassing the long-standing wins record of Jim Harley, his mentor and former coach,
Tom Ryan was still having a difficult time processing the accomplishment nearly 24 hours after the fact.
"It's obviously exciting," he said, "and gets you choked up. I never even thought of [breaking his record] when I took over. Winning games and going to the national tournament was, but certainly not getting to his number."
That number was 421, which Ryan eclipsed last night in an 84-69 win over Saint Leo in the McArthur Center on - where else - James Harley Court.
The result wasn't really in question after seven minutes were gone from the clock, thanks to a 21-2 Triton run to begin the game. Eckerd led by as many as 26 points late in the first half.
After the game, Ryan was presented with a commemorative basketball by Assistant Athletic Director
Bill Mathews and Vice President of Student Life Jim Annarelli.
His 422nd win came in the same building as his first, a 51-48 victory over Warner Southern (now Warner) on November 19, 1996. Eckerd's current women's basketball head coach,
Paul Honsinger, was a starter for Ryan in that game. Since then, the Tritons have made nine NCAA National Tournament Appearances and won four Sunshine State Conference championships under Ryan's leadership.
Aside from Harley, there is no name more synonymous with Eckerd basketball than Ryan's. He has been part of the program since 1983, first as a point guard for Harley for four seasons. He then became Harley's assistant coach for nine years before taking over as head coach in 1996.
Naturally, the record-breaking night brought back a flood of Ryan's many memories of his time with Harley - not only as a coach but even more as a mentor and a friend.
"When it was game night, he was as fierce a competitor as anyone," he said. "But the other 22 hours a day, he was trying to help people and make sure our athletes succeeded. I learned an extreme amount from him, not just about basketball but also about how you treat people and how hard you work."
"He's as good of a person as I've ever met. It's really special."
| THE TOM RYAN RECORD |
| YEAR |
RECORD |
SEASON NOTES |
| 1996-97 |
10-17 (1-13 SSC) |
|
| 1997-98 |
14-12 (8-6 SSC) |
SSC Coach of the Year |
| 1998-99 |
13-15 (5-9 SSC) |
|
| 1999-00 |
18-10 (7-7 SSC) |
|
| 2000-01 |
22-8 (10-4 SSC) |
SSC Coach of the Year, NABC Coach of the Year
NCAA National Tournament |
| 2001-02 |
21-7 (10-4 SSC) |
|
| 2002-03 |
25-7 (10-4 SSC) |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2003-04 |
21-11 (8-6 SSC) |
SSC Tournament Champions, NCAA National Tournament |
| 2004-05 |
21-11 (11-5 SSC) |
NCAA National Tournament |
| 2005-06 |
21-8 (10-6 SSC) |
|
| 2006-07 |
27-6 (12-4 SSC) |
SSC Tournament Champions, NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2007-08 |
19-10 (11-5 SSC) |
|
| 2008-09 |
13-14 (5-11 SSC) |
|
| 2009-10 |
19-9 (11-5 SSC) |
|
| 2010-11 |
22-8 (11-5 SSC) |
|
| 2011-12 |
21-9 (11-5 SSC) |
NCAA National Tournament |
| 2012-13 |
20-8 (11-5 SSC) |
NCAA National Tournament |
| 2013-14 |
17-14 (7-9 SSC) |
|
| 2014-15 |
12-16 (4-12 SSC) |
|
| 2015-16 |
25-7 (12-4 SSC) |
SSC Coach of the Year, SSC Regular Season Champs
SSC Tournament Champs, NCAA National Tournament |
| 2016-17 |
21-9 (13-5 SSC) |
NCAA National Tournament |
| 2017-18 |
20-6 (13-6 SSC) |
|