| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Jacksonville State |
| Conference | C-USA |
| Record | 146–111 (.568) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1961-10-11) October 11, 1961 (age 62) Greenville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1980–1982 | Texas |
| 1983–1985 | Kentucky Wesleyan |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1985–1989 | Kentucky Wesleyan (assistant)[1] |
| 1989–1996 | Kentucky Wesleyan (assoc. HC)[1] |
| 1996–2005 | Kentucky Wesleyan |
| 2005–2008 | Oklahoma City |
| 2009–2012 | Western Kentucky (assistant) |
| 2012–2016 | Western Kentucky |
| 2016–present | Jacksonville State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 482–221 (.686) (NCAA) 95–17 (.848) (NAIA) |
| Tournaments | 1–4 (NCAA Division I) 27–5* (NCAA Division II) 14–1 (NAIA) 2–1 (CBI) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2NCAA Division II tournament (1999, 2001) 2NAIA Men's Division I Tournament (2007, 2008) 2Sun Belt tournament (2012, 2013) OVC tournament (2017) ASUN West Division (2022) ASUN regular season (2022) | |
| Awards | |
| 7× Division II National Coach of the Year ASUN Coach of the Year (2022) | |
Lilburn Ray Harper Jr. (born October 11, 1961)[1][2] is an American college basketball coach, currently head coach for Jacksonville State University. Previously, he was head coachatOklahoma City University, Kentucky Wesleyan College, and Western Kentucky University. At Kentucky Wesleyan Harper compiled a 242–45 win–loss record.
He has been named the Division II National Coach of the Year seven times and won two national titles at Kentucky Wesleyan in 1999 and 2001.[3]
Harper was named interim head coach at Western Kentucky on January 6, 2012, after Ken McDonald was fired.[4] He was named permanent head coach on February 19, 2012, by then-athletic director Ross Bjork.[5] He resigned from the position on March 17, 2016, following the permanent suspension of three of his players.[6] Harper was subsequently hired at Jacksonville State on April 6, 2016,[7] where he took the 2016–17 team to the school's first NCAA appearance.
Born in Greenville, Kentucky and a native of Bremen, Kentucky, Harper played collegiately at the University of Texas[3] as a freshman and at Kentucky Wesleyan, during his sophomore-senior seasons, where he was named third team NABC All-American as a senior in 1985.
He is married to Shannon Harper,[8] a WKU alumna.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (Great Lakes Valley Conference) (1996–2005) | |||||||||
| 1996–97 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 21–8 | 14–6 | 5th | |||||
| 1997–98 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 30–3 | 17–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II runner-up | ||||
| 1998–99 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 35–1 | 20–1 | 1st | NCAA Division II champion | ||||
| 1999–00 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 31–3 | 18–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II runner-up | ||||
| 2000–01 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 31–3 | 17–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division II champion | ||||
| 2001–02 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 31–3 | 19–1 | 1st | NCAA Division II runner-up | ||||
| 2002–03 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 31–4* | 18–2* | 1st* | NCAA Division II runner-up* | ||||
| 2003–04 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 22–8* | 14–6* | 3rd* | NCAA Division II first round* | ||||
| 2004–05 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 15–13 | 9–11 | 6th | |||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan: | 247–46* (.843) | 146–34* (.811) | |||||||
| Oklahoma City Stars (Sooner Athletic Conference) (2005–2008) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Oklahoma City | 29–8 | 16–2 | 1st | NAIA Division I runner-up | ||||
| 2006–07 | Oklahoma City | 35–2 | 17–1 | 1st | NAIA Division I champions | ||||
| 2007–08 | Oklahoma City | 31–7 | 18–4 | 1st | NAIA Division I champions | ||||
| Oklahoma City NAIA: | 95–17 (.848) | 51–7 (.879) | |||||||
| Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Sun Belt Conference) (2012–2014) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | Western Kentucky | 11–8[9] | 6–7[9] | 3rd (East)[10] | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2012–13 | Western Kentucky | 20–16 | 10–10 | 4th (East)[11] | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Western Kentucky | 21–12 | 12–6 | 2nd | |||||
| Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Conference USA) (2014–2016) | |||||||||
| 2014–15 | Western Kentucky | 20–12 | 12–6 | 4th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Western Kentucky | 18–16 | 8–10 | 8th | |||||
| Western Kentucky: | 89–64 (.582) | 48–39 (.552) | |||||||
| Jacksonville State Gamecocks (Ohio Valley Conference) (2016–2021) | |||||||||
| 2016–17 | Jacksonville State | 20–15 | 9–7 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Jacksonville State | 23–13 | 11–7 | 4th | CBI semifinals | ||||
| 2018–19 | Jacksonville State | 24–9 | 15–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 2019–20 | Jacksonville State | 13–19 | 8–10 | 7th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Jacksonville State | 18–9 | 13–6 | 4th | |||||
| Jacksonville State Gamecocks (ASUN Conference) (2021–2023) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Jacksonville State | 21–11 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Jacksonville State | 13–18 | 6–12 | T–11th | |||||
| Jacksonville State Gamecocks (Conference USA) (2023–present) | |||||||||
| 2023–24 | Jacksonville State | 14–18 | 6–10 | 8th | |||||
| Jacksonville State: | 146–112 (.568) | 81–58 (.583) | |||||||
| Total: | 482–222 (.686) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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* 20 wins and 5 losses were vacated from the 2003–04 season and for the 2002–03 season; the school had to vacate the NCAA Division II runner-up and conference regular season championship.[12]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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Men's basketball head coaches of Conference USA
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