Thomas Sydnor Asbury (born July 14, 1945) is a retired American men's college basketball coach. He spent two separate terms as head coach at Pepperdine University, retiring from that position in 2011. He was also a head coach for Kansas State University and served as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, the University of Wyoming (his alma mater), and the University of Alabama.

Tom Asbury
Biographical details
Born (1945-07-14) July 14, 1945 (age 79)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Playing career
1964–1967Wyoming
Position(s)Forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1976–1979Wyoming (assistant)
1979–1988Pepperdine (assistant)
1988–1994Pepperdine
1994–2000Kansas State
2003–2007Alabama (assistant)
2008–2011Pepperdine
Head coaching record
Overall453–238
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3 WCC regular season (1991–1993)
3 WCC tournament (1991, 1992, 1994)
Awards
2× WCC Coach of the Year (1991, 1992)

Career

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Pepperdine

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Asbury was an assistant coach at Pepperdine for nine seasons before succeeding Jim Harrick as head coach. Asbury was very successful in his first stint at Pepperdine, becoming the conference coach of the year twice and compiling a 125–59 record in his first six years. He took the Waves to the NCAA Tournament in 1991, 1992, and 1994, as well as two NIT appearances, three regular-season WCC titles, and three WCC Tournament championships.[1]

Kansas State and Alabama

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His success landed him the head coaching job at Kansas State University. He coached the Wildcats for six seasons, making the NCAA tournament once and the NIT tournament twice. However, his final season ended in 1999–2000 at Kansas State with a 9–19 record and a 2–14 conference record. He was fired and later returned to coaching as an assistant at the University of Alabama under former pupil Mark Gottfried. Mark Fox, the head coach at the University of California, is another former Asbury assistant, having coached with him at Kansas State.

Return to Pepperdine and retirement

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Asbury came out of retirement to coach Pepperdine for a second time prior to the 2008–09 season. After three more seasons, on March 11, 2011, Asbury announced his retirement, turning the Pepperdine program over to assistant Marty Wilson.[2] In October 2012, Asbury was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame.[3]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Pepperdine Waves (West Coast Athletic Conference/West Coast Conference) (1988–1994)
1988–89 Pepperdine 20–13 10–4 T–2nd NIT second round
1989–90 Pepperdine 17–11 10–4 2nd
1990–91 Pepperdine 22–9 13–1 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
1991–92 Pepperdine 24–7 14–0 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
1992–93 Pepperdine 23–8 11–3 1st NIT second round
1993–94 Pepperdine 19–11 8–6 T–2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64
Pepperdine: 125–59 (.679) 66–18 (.786)
Kansas State Wildcats (Big Eight Conference) (1994–1996)
1994–95 Kansas State 12–15 3–11 8th
1995–96 Kansas State 17–12 7–7 4th NCAA Division I Round of 64
Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12 Conference) (1996–2000)
1996–97 Kansas State 10–17 3–13 T–10th
1997–98 Kansas State 17–12 7–9 T–7th NIT first round
1998–99 Kansas State 20–13 7–9 T–7th NIT first round
1999–2000 Kansas State 9–19 2–14 12th
Kansas State: 85–88 (.491) 29–63 (.315)
Pepperdine Waves (West Coast Conference) (2008–2011)
2008–09 Pepperdine 9–23 5–9 6th
2009–10 Pepperdine 7–24 3–11 T–6th
2010–11 Pepperdine 16–18 5–9 6th
Pepperdine: 32–66 (.327) 13–29 (.310)
Total: 242–212 (.533)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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