14 Facts About Oliver Purnell

Oliver Purnell attended Stephen Decatur High School, where he played on the boys' basketball team that captured the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class B championship in 1970.

That year, Oliver Purnell was selected by Converse as an honorable mention Division II All-American.

Oliver Purnell averaged 14.4 points a game his senior year and 13.8 as a junior.

Oliver Purnell scored 25 points against Randolph-Macon in the NCAA South Atlantic Regional Championship game in 1975.

Oliver Purnell was accorded the team MVP honors his senior year.

Oliver Purnell dished out 474 career assists, which placed him sixth on the school's all-time list.

Oliver Purnell was drafted in the sixth round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Oliver Purnell was inducted into the Stephen Decatur High School Hall of Fame on September 19,2008.

Oliver Purnell was inducted into the ODU Sports Hall of Fame in April 1988.

Oliver Purnell became a graduate assistant coach at ODU in July 1975, eventually becoming a full-time assistant at the university.

Oliver Purnell served three seasons at Maryland before being selected as head coach at Radford University.

Oliver Purnell was the recipient of USA Basketball's 1999 Developmental Coach of the Year Award for that accomplishment.

Oliver Purnell was selected to the board of directors at the 1998 convention for the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

However, Oliver Purnell was unable to win an NCAA tournament game during his stints with ODU, Dayton and Clemson.