Tim O'Shea

This article is about the American basketball coach. For the Principal of the University of Edinburgh, see Timothy O'Shea. For the former English football (soccer) player, see Tim O'Shea (footballer).

Tim O'Shea
Sport(s)	Basketball
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Bryant
Biographical details
Born	January 13, 1962 (1962-01-13) Woodbury, New Jersey, USA
Playing career
1980–1984	Boston College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1984–1985 1985–1986 1986–1988 1988–1997 1997–2001 2001–2008 2008–present	Rhode Island (asst.) Boston College (asst.) Yale (asst.) Rhode Island (asst.) Boston College (asst.) Ohio Bryant
Accomplishments and honors
Championships MAC Tournament Championship (2005)

Tim O'Shea (born January 13, 1962 in Woodbury, New Jersey) is an American college basketball coach. He is the current head coach of the men's basketball team at Bryant University. He has vowed to bring Bryant to multiple NCAA tournaments. O'Shea quit his job at Ohio University to become head coach at Bryant during the school's transition to Division I.

O'Shea came to Athens, Ohio on March 29, 2001 and vowed to take the Ohio men's basketball program to the next level.^{[citation needed]} The 2004–05 season marked one of the most memorable runs in school history—including a Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament crown and a scare of Southeastern Conference champion Florida in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.^{[citation needed]}

O'Shea's first season on the sidelines at Ohio was highlighted by victories over DePaul and North Carolina on national television.^{[citation needed]} In his second season at the helm, O'Shea led the Bobcats to a victory over Virginia and a spot in the MAC Tournament semifinals after the team posted a 12–6 conference record.

Following the 2002–03 season, forward Brandon Hunter became the first Bobcat selected in the NBA Draft since 1995 when the Boston Celtics selected him in the second round. A year later, after losing Hunter, sixth-man Sonny Johnson and three-point shooter Steve Esterkamp, the 2003–04 Bobcats slipped to a 10–20 record, but bounced back in 2004–05 for their memorable run to the NCAA Tournament.

The 2004–05 Bobcats captured significant non-conference victories against San Francisco, Butler and Detroit, then won 11 of their last 15 contests down the stretch. O'Shea won the MAC Tournament but their run ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Florida. The Bobcats did not go down without a fight, as they nearly overcame a 20-point second-half deficit.^{[citation needed]}

Ohio opened 2005–06 as with the moniker of college hoops' "It" team^{[citation needed]} and compiled 19 victories before falling to eventual league champion Kent State in the MAC Tournament semifinals. The Bobcats registered victories at Marist, Rhode Island and Toledo, against Akron and Samford at home, and took 18th-ranked Kentucky to the wire in Cincinnati, Ohio.^{[citation needed]}

O'Shea's head coaching career began after experience as an assistant in the Ivy League, Atlantic 10 Conference and Big East Conference.

O'Shea began his work on the bench as a graduate assistant at the University of Rhode Island and Boston College. His first full-time appointment came later that year at Yale University, where he spent the next two seasons.

The next stop for O'Shea was a spot on Al Skinner's staff at Rhode Island. He spent nine seasons at URI, where the Rams' earned two National Invitation Tournament and two NCAA Tournament berths. A notable O'Shea recruit during this stint was current National Basketball Association star Cuttino Mobley.^{[citation needed]}

In the spring of 1997, O'Shea returned to his alma mater. In four seasons at Boston College, the Eagles were Big East regular season and tournament champions in 2000–01. BC posted a 27–5 record and earned a No. 3 seed for the NCAA East Regional and finished with a No. 9 ranking in the Ratings Percentage Index just two years after being ranked 246.^{[citation needed]}

As a player, O'Shea earned All-America accolades at Wayland High School in Wayland, Massachusetts. O'Shea also played for some of the most successful squads in Boston College history.^{[citation needed]} The Eagles won two Big East regular-season titles and earned four postseason tournament berths during his career. In his four years, BC advanced twice to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen and once to the Elite Eight.

O'Shea earned a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in English from Boston College in 1984, then added a master's degree in counseling/psychology from BC two years later.

External links

• Tim O'Shea Page on Ohiobobcats.com