Ron Everhart Head Coach Fifth season Virginia Tech '85

Men's Basketball 2004-05 •TEAM PAGE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TEAM STATS

As Northeastern men’s basketball begins a new chapter in its storied history by joining the Colonial Athletic Association, the program is in trusted hands as Head Coach Ron Everhart begins his fifth season as the Huskies’ top dog. With a 63-57 record over four seasons at Northeastern, Everhart’s team finished the 2004-05 season with a 21-10 overall record and enjoyed its best season in the America East (15-3) since the 1986–87 season. The Huskies also made their first appearance in the America East Championship since the 1994-95 season and first-ever appearance in the 32-team National Invitation Tournament. The team’s postseason play was a large step towards the success Everhart continually strives to build. “It’s our intention to be in postseason play every year,” Everhart says. “But what we want to do is first establish an identity as a program. I’m someone who believes in representing our program appropriately. We represent an institution of higher learning, and I expect our players to represent themselves accordingly. I want to make sure that when we walk off the floor, win or lose, our opponents respect us. No matter what, I want people to say, ‘Man, those guys really play hard.’” On top of the many team accomplishments achieved throughout the season, Coach Everhart was recognized by his peers for superior performance as he was voted the America East Coach of the Year. Everhart also guided his players to some impressive awards, as Jose Juan Barea earned his second consecutive All-America East first-team award and Shawn James was hailed as the America East Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Also topping Everhart’s impressive resume at NU are two of the biggest road wins in the history of the program. During the 2002-03 season, his Huskies traveled across town and upset Boston College 72-67, despite playing without two injured starters. The following winter, NU continued to find success against Big East foes, as the Huskies went to Morgantown, W.V. and defeated West Virginia, 91-84. Everhart has developed a winning style of play that stresses an up-tempo, attacking style of basketball, as witnessed by Northeastern’s league-leading 73.5 points per game last season. “We want to create chaos,” says Everhart. “On offense, we play with what we call ‘intelligent aggressiveness.’ We’re not just going to run and pitch up shots. We’re going to be intelligent while being as aggressive as possible.” Everhart’s game plan begins with his impressive recruiting abilities as he continues to bring in the players that best fit his system. Says Everhart, “The first thing I look for is a good kid and a good teammate. Then I look for versatility in my players, so that each player becomes an interchangeable part in our dynamic system of play.” Everhart was named the 16th men’s basketball head coach in Northeastern history on April 9, 2001. According to Everhart, “I have been in love with Northeastern since day one because it is a tight-knit university in the midst of a large city. As a professional, it is a great place to continue my career and as a father, it is a great place to raise my family.” He came to Boston after an impressive seven-year run at McNeese State University, located in Lake Charles, La., building the Cowboys into a perennial force in the Southland Conference. In 2000-01, he led McNeese State to the Southland regular season championship and a berth in the NIT. The Cowboys finished 22-9 overall and 17-3 in conference play. It was McNeese’s first 20-win season since 1985-86, and the Cowboys tied the Southland record for conference wins. Everhart was recognized by his peers, earning District 8 Coach of the Year honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He was one of 15 finalists for the NABC’s National Coach of the Year Award. Everhart also was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com, which placed McNeese State 22nd in its final mid-major national rankings. He was Conference Coach of the Year in 1996-97 as well. Everhart took over the McNeese State program prior to the 1994-95 season and started building a success story. The Cowboys produced a winning record in just his second season (15-12, 11-7 Southland), the team’s first winning mark in six years. McNeese then won a share of the conference championship in the 1996-97 season, going 18-12 and 10-6 in Southland play as Rosell Ellis was named Conference Player of the Year. Even with several seasons of rebuilding, Everhart’s teams were 65-59 in the Southland Conference over seven seasons. His overall record at McNeese was 92-104. The Cowboys peaked during the 2000-01 season. After starting 3-6, McNeese won 19 of 20 games, including 15 in a row entering the Southland championship game. The team lost a heartbreaking 72-71 decision to Northwestern State, but the Cowboys still earned an NIT bid. It was McNeese’s first postseason tournament appearance since an NCAA berth in 1989. Everhart’s team finished with a 22-9 record and sent two players on to notable professional contracts, Tierre Brown with the Houston Rockets and Desmond Mallet in Germany. During his time at McNeese, Everhart also gained experience on the international stage as the head coach of a U.S. All-Star team that toured Venezuela in the summer of 1999. Before accepting his first head coaching job at McNeese State on March 18, 1994, Everhart spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Tulane under head coach Perry Clark. During his stint at Tulane, Everhart helped lead a turnaround of the Green Wave. Again, the revival came quickly as Tulane advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Everhart’s third season. Everhart laid the groundwork by recruiting three straight Metro Conference Freshman of the Year award-winners to Tulane. He also met former NU Director of Athletics Ian McCaw at Tulane, where McCaw was an associate AD. The relationship would later be instrumental in Everhart’s decision to come to Boston. A 1985 graduate of Virginia Tech, Everhart got his start in college coaching during the 1985-86 season as a graduate assistant to Bobby Cremins at Georgia Tech. He then moved on to a full-time assistant’s role as recruiting coordinator at the Virginia Military Institute for two seasons (1986-88) before taking the position at Tulane. Everhart played his prep basketball for high school coaching legend Morgan Wootten at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., earning first team Catholic Prep All-America honors. He grew up in West Virginia and attended Fairmont West High, lettering basketball and baseball. Everhart then was a four-year letterman at Virginia Tech, serving as team captain as a senior during the 1984-85 season. He was primarily a backup to his college roommate and future NBA standout Dell Curry. Everhart and his wife, Mirchana, along with their twin children, Ronnie and Gianna (6), reside in Walpole.