Jimmy Tillette

Hometown: New Orleans, La. High School: St. Aloysius, 1968 Position: Head Coach

Birthdate: 04/08/1950 Experience: 15th Season Education: B.S. Our Lady of Holy Cross '75

Samford's all-time winningest coach, Jimmy Tillette, is in his 15th season at the helm of the Bulldog basketball program. During his tenure, he has led the Bulldogs to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and has registered a 140-114 record against conference opponents.

Head Coach Jimmy Tillette is Samford's all-time leader in wins.

Tillette quickly climbed the school's career wins list and rapidly became the only coach in Samford history to record consecutive 20-win seasons. In 1999 and 2000, Tillette guided the Bulldogs to 24 and 21 wins, respectively, and led his team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

With an overall record of 218-200 at Samford, Tillette passed former LSU head coach John Brady atop the Samford victory list with a 70-61 victory over Arkansas State in the second game of the 2002-03 season. The win helped Tillette reach the top of the list in only five years, compared to six seasons for Brady.

On Dec. 22, 2009, Tillette earned the 200th victory of his career as his squad posted a 58-56 win at Eastern Michigan. With the victory, Tillette became the first basketball coach in Samford history to reach the 200-win plateau.

Over the years, the Bulldogs have excelled under the tutelage of Tillette. With his guidance, Samford owns a 95-50 record against conference opponents at home. During the 2004-05 campaign, the Bulldogs posted a 10-3 home record, including a 7-2 mark against conference opponents.

Tillette is in his 14th season as head coach at Samford University.

As head coach, Tillette immediately made his mark on the Samford program, incorporating the Princeton-style offense, which relies on precision cuts and 3-point shooting. Under Tillette, the Bulldogs distinguished themselves statistically among the nation's best, finishing third in the nation in 3-pointers made per game during the 1998-99 season.

In 1999, the Bulldogs finished No. 1 in the nation in field-goal percentage (50.3) and second in the nation in 3-pointers made per game. During the 2002-03 season, Samford finishing third in 3-pointers made per game (9.8) and 19th overall in scoring defense (62.7 ppg) nationally.

During the 2004-05 campaign, Tillette's squad concluded the season as the second-ranked team in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage (41.9) and finished third in the country in field-goal percentage (50.3). The Bulldogs also ended the season ranked fourth in the nation in fewest personal fouls per game (14.7), 11th in 3-point field goals per game, 19th in free-throw percentage (74.5) and 24th in turnovers per game (12.3).

Prior to becoming a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in 2003, Samford had been a perennial leader in the Atlantic Sun Conference since the 1978 campaign. In 2000-01, Tillette's squad set a conference record for 3-pointers made in a game (23), breaking the previous mark established by the 1995 Samford team. At the conclusion of the 2000 season, the Bulldogs ranked either first or second in nine of 15 A-Sun statistical categories.

Head Coach Jimmy Tillette

In his first season at the helm, Tillette guided the Bulldogs, then the youngest team in Division I, to a 14-13 overall record and a 9-7 mark against A-Sun opponents. Tillette's first team featured a starting lineup that consisted of one senior and four sophomores, with the remainder of the 11-man squad totally comprised of underclassmen. After being picked to finish third in the 1998-99 A-Sun preseason poll, the Bulldogs went on a magical run that culminated with a 24-6 overall record and the school's first NCAA Tournament berth. The 24-win season was Samford's best since joining Division I in the early 1970s and came within one game of tying the school record of 25 victories set in the 1938-39 season.

During the 1998-99 season, Tillette guided Samford to a 15-1 record in conference play, which was highlighted by a 13-game winning streak. For his efforts, Tillette was named the Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year.

In 1999, Tillette's Bulldogs were preseason favorites to win the A-Sun title, but finished third in the regular season with a 12-6 conference record and a 21-11 overall mark. The 1999-2000 season marked Tillette's second 20-win campaign, and included groundbreaking wins over St. John's and Alabama. The Bulldogs also rallied to win the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship and earned their second NCAA Tournament appearance.

Before being named the school's 27th head coach in 1997, Tillette spent eight seasons as an assistant coach, including six years at Samford, where he helped the Bulldogs earn a share of the championship in 1995-96 and the A-Sun's West Division title in 1996-97. In Tillette's six years as an assistant coach, he was a key factor in Samford's 89-77 overall record and Atlantic Sun West Division titles.

Tillette is widely respected in coaching circles for his teaching of the motion offense, which was previously the cornerstone of the Bulldogs' offense. Tillette also served as an assistant coach at Tulane (1990-91) under Perry Clark and at Mississippi State (1989-90) under Richard Williams.

A New Orleans native, Tillette proved himself for a number of years as a head coach in the high school ranks. He led hometown De La Salle High School to a 196-55 overall record over seven seasons. He was named the Louisiana High School Coach of the Year after De La Salle set a state record for wins with a 40-1 mark and won the Class 4A state championship.

His first coaching job was a seven-year stint as an assistant at New Orleans' Jesuit High School. There, he served under his close friend and former Birmingham-Southern head coach Duane Reboul.

Tillette is a graduate of Holy Cross College in New Orleans. He earned a master's degree in history from the University of New Orleans. He married his wife, Stephanie, in the summer of 2010. Tillette has one son, Tristan, and three grandchildren: Shea, 8, and twins Cian and Aureyn, 5.