Naismith Hall of Fame speech
Career Retrospective
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Herb Magee was the face of the university’s men’s basketball program for 63 years from 1959-2022, first as a student-athlete and then as a coach. In his storied career at the intersection of Henry Avenue and School House Lane, Magee led the program to national prominence and a mainstay as an East Region power. He retired as head coach after the 2021-22 campaign, his 54th at the helm. Magee guided the Rams through several institution name changes, from Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science (1961-99) to Philadelphia University (1999-2017) to Thomas Jefferson University (2017-22).
Magee ended his career as the winningest NCAA Division II men's basketball coach of all-time, and second winningest across all divisions, with 1,144 victories. He led his teams to 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a national championship in 1970, and 13 conference championships. The Rams recorded 38 20+-win seasons and 12 25+-win seasons—including a school-record 30 victories during the 1992-93 campaign. Magee’s teams boasted a winning record for an impressive 24 consecutive seasons from 1997-2022 (the team did not compete in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). His final career mark was 1,144-450 for a .718 winning percentage.
Magee is just one of three coaches in NCAA men’s basketball history to record 1,000 career victories, accomplishing the feat on Feb. 7, 2015 with an 80-60 victory over Post University. He became the fourth men’s basketball coach in NCAA history to coach 50 years, and the third to do it at one school (Jim Smith – 51 – Saint John’s (Minn.), Harry Statham – 50 – McKendree). On November 19, 2019, Magee hit another milestone with his 1,100th career win, a 98-79 decision over Kutztown, becoming only the second coach in NCAA history to reach the mark.
His coaching produced 13 All-Americans, 49 1,000-point scorers and three 2,000-point scorers. In 2007, Christian Burns was selected as the Daktronics NCAA Division II Player of the Year. After the school joined the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, Magee had 15 different players named to the CACC All-Academic Team, including three-time honoree Peter Alexis. Al Angelos (1980), Alexis (2015, 2016), and Antonin Kemkeng (2022) were selected as College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-Americans.
During the national championship 1969-70 season—Magee’s third season as the Rams’ head coach, Philadelphia overcame a 1-2 start to run off 28 consecutive victories on its way to the crown. The Rams won their final 26 contests by a double-figure margin. In the NCAA Tournament, the Rams won their five games by an average of 23.8 points, including a 101-53 thrashing of American International in the quarterfinal round. Philadelphia won the school’s first national title with a 76-65 win over Tennessee State.
In the 2009-10 season that saw the Rams reach the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, Magee won his 903rd career game to pass Bobby Knight for first on the NCAA men’s basketball coaching wins list. The milestone victory came on February 23, 2010 by a 76-65 score over visiting Goldey-Beacom. This achievement came nearly three years to the day, February 1, 2007, that Magee became the Division II men’s basketball wins leader after picking up his 829th win to pass Clarence “Big House” Gaines.
In 2017, Magee coached his “first season” at Jefferson after Philadelphia University merged with Thomas Jefferson University. The Rams went 21-14 before making a late-season run in the CACC Tournament to win the conference and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Senior Kaison Randolph became the 55th Ram to score 1,000 career points as he was named to the All-CACC Second Team.
The Rams had an outstanding season in 2019-20, racking up 27 victories and their second straight CACC South Division crown. Jefferson advanced to the CACC Championship Game before receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the team did not get a chance to compete on the national level as the NCAA postseason was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rams' 27-4 record was the best winning percentage since the 1993-94 campaign. The squad was ranked as high as seventh in the nation during the season, their best ranking since 1995. Jefferson had an 18-game win streak at one point, the longest since 1993-94. Four players earned All-CACC honors, led by CACC Player of the Year Kylan Guerra. Guerra went on to earn NABC All-America honors. Magee captured the CACC and NABC East District Coach of the Year awards.
In Magee's farewell season in 2021-22, the Rams returned from a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic to boast a 21-6 mark and capture another CACC South Division title. Jefferson reached the semifinals of the CACC Tournament. Erik Timko was chosen the conference's Rookie of the Year and earned All-CACC First Team honors along with Deondre Bourne. Antonin Kemkeng was named to the All-CACC Third Team and finished second in the nation in rebounding.
Magee’s accomplishments have led to an impressive list of honors, most notably induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. His induction class included St. John’s men’s basketball head coach and former NBA player Chris Mullin, Stanford women’s basketball head coach Tara VanDerveer, former Kansas State head coach Tex Winter, and former NBA players Dennis Rodman and Arvydas Sabonis.
A member of numerous Halls of Fame, Magee is also enshrined in the West Catholic High School Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (1979), Philadelphia University Athletics Hall of Fame (1984), Philadelphia Area Small College Basketball Hall of Fame (2002), Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (2008), and the Middle Atlantic Conferences Hall of Fame (2022).
In 2005, Magee was selected as a “Guardian of the Game” by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) under its Education core value and was honored at the NCAA Division I Final Four. Two years later, Magee was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Sports Congress. The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association tabbed Magee as its “Living Legend” in 2012. The NABC honored Magee again in 2020 with the Hillyard Golden Anniversary Award. In 2022, Magee was the recipient of the NCAA President's Pat Summitt Award.
In 1976, Magee earned the NABC Division II Co-Coach of the Year Award along with Puget Sound’s Don Zech. He has also been recognized as the NABC Division II East District Coach of the Year (1971, ’73, ’89, ’93, 2020), Kodak District Coach of the Year (1993), Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year (2008, ’10, '20), New York Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (1993, ’94, ’04), and Mideast Collegiate Conference Co-Coach of the Year (twice). In 2016, he received the Joe Lapchick Character Award.
Not only is Magee a tremendous coach, he is also one of the best players to wear a Rams’ uniform. As a guard for then-Philadelphia Textile from 1959 to 1963, Magee poured in 2,235 and averaged a school record 29.1 points per game in the 1961-62 season. Magee—an All-American in 1962 and 1963—led the Rams to a 75-17 record and to the 1963 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
After Magee graduated from Textile in 1963 with a marketing degree, he was taken by the Boston Celtics with the 62nd pick of that summer’s NBA Entry Draft. Magee chose not to join the Celtics and went back to Textile to serve as an assistant coach under his mentor Walter “Bucky” Harris—a position he held until taking over the program in 1967.
Dubbed “The Shot Doctor”, Magee has worked with numerous NBA players on the art of the jump shot, including 2006 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Charles Barkley, Jameer Nelson, and Evan Turner. He has also produced a pair of instruction DVDs: “Nothing But Net” and “Nothing But Drills”.
|
Herb Magee Coaching Record
|
| Year |
School |
Record |
Pct. |
NCAA Tournament |
| 1967-68 |
Philadelphia Textile |
21-6 |
.778 |
Second Round |
| 1968-69 |
Philadelphia Textile |
20-5 |
.800 |
First Round |
| 1969-70 |
Philadelphia Textile |
29-2 |
.935 |
National Champion |
| 1970-71 |
Philadelphia Textile |
22-6 |
.786 |
Second Round |
| 1971-72 |
Philadelphia Textile |
22-7 |
.759 |
Second Round |
| 1972-73 |
Philadelphia Textile |
25-4 |
.862 |
Second Round |
| 1973-74 |
Philadelphia Textile |
10-14 |
.417 |
|
| 1974-75 |
Philadelphia Textile |
21-6 |
.778 |
Round of 16 |
| 1975-76 |
Philadelphia Textile |
25-3 |
.893 |
Round of 16 |
| 1976-77 |
Philadelphia Textile |
22-6 |
.786 |
First Round |
| 1977-78 |
Philadelphia Textile |
18-10 |
.643 |
Round of 16 |
| 1978-79 |
Philadelphia Textile |
20-8 |
.714 |
First Round |
| 1979-80 |
Philadelphia Textile |
13-13 |
.500 |
|
| 1980-81 |
Philadelphia Textile |
15-12 |
.556 |
|
| 1981-82 |
Philadelphia Textile |
13-14 |
.481 |
|
| 1982-83 |
Philadelphia Textile |
23-7 |
.767 |
Round of 16 |
| 1983-84 |
Philadelphia Textile |
21-8 |
.724 |
|
| 1984-85 |
Philadelphia Textile |
24-7 |
.774 |
Round of 16 |
| 1985-86 |
Philadelphia Textile |
16-14 |
.533 |
|
| 1986-87 |
Philadelphia Textile |
16-14 |
.533 |
|
| 1987-88 |
Philadelphia Textile |
20-10 |
.667 |
|
| 1988-89 |
Philadelphia Textile |
24-7 |
.774 |
First Round |
| 1989-90 |
Philadelphia Textile |
22-8 |
.733 |
|
| 1990-91 |
Philadelphia Textile |
24-8 |
.750 |
National Quarterfinals |
| 1991-92 |
Philadelphia Textile |
28-4 |
.875 |
Round of 16 |
| 1992-93 |
Philadelphia Textile |
30-2 |
.938 |
National Quarterfinals |
| 1993-94 |
Philadelphia Textile |
29-2 |
.935 |
Round of 16 |
| 1994-95 |
Philadelphia Textile |
26-5 |
.839 |
Round of 16 |
| 1995-96 |
Philadelphia Textile |
19-9 |
.679 |
|
| 1996-97 |
Philadelphia Textile |
13-14 |
.481 |
|
| 1997-98 |
Philadelphia Textile |
18-10 |
.643 |
|
| 1998-99 |
Philadelphia Textile |
21-6 |
.778 |
|
| 1999-00 |
Philadelphia U. |
17-10 |
.630 |
|
| 2000-01 |
Philadelphia U. |
24-7 |
.774 |
Second Round |
| 2001-02 |
Philadelphia U. |
19-9 |
.679 |
|
| 2002-03 |
Philadelphia U. |
16-12 |
.571 |
|
| 2003-04 |
Philadelphia U. |
26-8 |
.765 |
First Round |
| 2004-05 |
Philadelphia U. |
21-9 |
.700 |
|
| 2005-06 |
Philadelphia U. |
20-11 |
.645 |
|
| 2006-07 |
Philadelphia U. |
20-10 |
.667 |
First Round |
| 2007-08 |
Philadelphia U. |
22-12 |
.647 |
First Round |
| 2008-09 |
Philadelphia U. |
25-6 |
.806 |
First Round |
| 2009-10 |
Philadelphia U. |
27-8 |
.771 |
Round of 16 |
| 2010-11 |
Philadelphia U. |
15-12 |
.556 |
|
| 2011-12 |
Philadelphia U. |
19-10 |
.655 |
First Round |
| 2012-13 |
Philadelphia U. |
19-10 |
.655 |
|
| 2013-14 |
Philadelphia U. |
25-7 |
.781 |
First Round |
| 2014-15 |
Philadelphia U. |
24-8 |
.750 |
First Round |
| 2015-16 |
Philadelphia U. |
23-9 |
.719 |
First Round |
| 2016-17 |
Philadelphia U. |
21-9 |
.700 |
|
| 2017-18 |
Jefferson |
21-14 |
.600 |
First Round |
| 2018-19 |
Jefferson |
22-8 |
.733 |
|
| 2019-20 |
Jefferson |
27-4 |
.871 |
At-Large Bid* |
| 2020-21 |
Jefferson |
N/A # |
|
|
| 2021-22 |
Jefferson |
21-6 |
.778 |
|
| 54 seasons |
1,144-450 |
.718 |
|
|
|
|
|
* The 2020 NCAA Tournament
was not played due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
# Jefferson did not compete in men's basketball in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
