William Lange (born February 11, 1972) is an American college basketball coach, currently the men's head coach at Saint Joseph's University. He was previously an assistant head coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. Prior to joining the 76ers, he was the associate head coach at Villanova University and head coach of the Navy Midshipmen.[1]
 | |
| Saint Joseph's Hawks | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | Atlantic 10 Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | February 11, 1972 Haddon Heights, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bishop Eustace (Pennsauken Township, New Jersey) |
| College | Rowan (1990–1994) |
| Coaching career | 1996–present |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 1996–1998 | Philadelphia (assistant) |
| 1998–1999 | La Salle (assistant) |
| 1999–2001 | U. S. Merchant Marine Academy |
| 2001–2004 | Villanova (assistant) |
| 2004–2011 | Navy |
| 2011–2013 | Villanova (associate HC) |
| 2013–2019 | Philadelphia 76ers (assistant) |
| 2019–present | Saint Joseph's |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As coach:
| |
High school edit
Born in Haddon Heights, New Jersey,[2] Lange played high school basketball at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey and then played collegiately at Rowan University. He started his coaching career with a single season at his alma mater, Bishop Eustace, replacing his father in the role.[3]
Coaching career edit
In 1996, Lange began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant under Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Herb Magee at Philadelphia University. After two seasons with Magee, Lange moved on to Division I ball, going crosstown and earning an assistant coaching job at La Salle University in 1998. While at La Salle, Lange helped the Explorers earn a 13–15 record during the 1998–99 season before being offered the head job at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.
Lange's first two years of collegiate head coaching were extremely successful. In his first season, Lange guided his Mariners to a 1999–2000 Skyline Conference regular season title and came up a game short in making the Division III NCAA Tournament, losing in the Skyline Conference tournament. However, the squad earned a record of 17–11, including a 13–3 mark in conference. Lange's second year at USMMA, however, would prove to be historic, as his team compiled a 22–8 record, including 15–1 in-conference. The 2000–01 Mariners won both the regular season and conference tournament championships, and made it all the way to the Division III Sweet 16, the first time a USMMA team had ever advanced beyond the first round of the tournament.
Lange returned to Division I ball when he accepted an assistant coaching position at Villanova University. From 2001 to 2004, Billy worked under Jay Wright, while the Villanova Wildcasts enjoyed great success.
Lange earned his first Division I head coaching assignment in 2004 as he became the coach at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Lange inherited a team that had gone only 5–23 the previous year. His teams showed improvement on the court, including a 16–14 record in 2007–08, the school's first winning season in seven years and a 19–11 mark in 2008–09.
Lange left his post at Navy to rejoin Wright as his associate head coach on May 9, 2011.[4] After two seasons at Villanova, Lange was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers as a player development coach for the 2013–14 season.[5] Prior to joining Brett Brown's staff, Lange reportedly turned down a head coaching opportunity with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the NBA Development League, or D-League, affiliate of the Houston Rockets.[6]
While with the Sixers, Lange elevated into a lead assistant with roles that included player development and coordinating the team's offense. Lange left his position with the 76ers to be the men's basketball head coach at Saint Joseph's University on March 28, 2019. He was hired to replace Phil Martelli after 24 years at head coach of Saint Joseph's.[7]
Personal life edit
Lange has a wife, Alicia, and four sons, Will, Matt, Marcus, and Jacob.[citation needed]
Head coaching record edit
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant Marine Academy Mariners (Skyline Conference) (1999–2001) | |||||||||
| 1999–00 | USMMA | 17–11 | 13–3 | 1st | |||||
| 2000–01 | USMMA | 22–8 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Division III Sweet 16 | ||||
| USMMA: | 39–19 (.672) | 28–4 (.875) | |||||||
| Navy Midshipmen (Patriot League) (2004–2011) | |||||||||
| 2004–05 | Navy | 10–18 | 5–9 | T–6th | |||||
| 2005–06 | Navy | 10–18 | 3–11 | 7th | |||||
| 2006–07 | Navy | 14–16 | 4–10 | T–6th | |||||
| 2007–08 | Navy | 16–14 | 9–5 | 2nd | |||||
| 2008–09 | Navy | 19–11 | 8–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2009–10 | Navy | 13–17 | 7–7 | T–4th | |||||
| 2010–11 | Navy | 11–20 | 6–8 | T–4th | |||||
| Navy: | 93–114 (.449) | 42–56 (.429) | |||||||
| Saint Joseph's Hawks (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Saint Joseph's | 6–26 | 2–16 | T–13th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Saint Joseph's | 5–15 | 3–9 | 13th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Saint Joseph's | 11–19 | 5–13 | T–12th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Saint Joseph's | 16–17 | 8–10 | T–8th | |||||
| 2023–24 | Saint Joseph's | 21–14 | 9–9 | T–7th | NIT First Round | ||||
| Saint Joseph's: | 59–91 (.393) | 27–57 (.321) | |||||||
| Total: | 191–224 (.460) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References edit
- ^ "Billy Lange". navysports.com. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ "Billy Lange". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
- ^ Billy Lange profile Archived 2007-01-28 at the Wayback Machine, CSTV. Accessed July 17, 2007. "A native of Haddon Heights, N.J., Lange played basketball at Bishop Eustace (N.J.) High School for his father, Bill Lange Sr., and at Rowan College before moving into the coaching ranks in 1995. In his first and only season as the head coach, taking over for his father who was in a life-threatening accident just one week into the season, Lange led Bishop Eustace to a 20–6 record and an appearance in the state New Jersey State Championship game."
- ^ Billy Lange joins Villanova as assistant, accessed May 9, 2011
- ^ "NBA.com Billy Lange". www.nba.com. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ O'Neil, Dana (2013-09-16). "Billy Lange turns down D-League position". ESPN. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
- ^ Borzello, Jeff (March 28, 2019). "St. Joe's hires 76ers' assistant Lange as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 29, 2019.