Gary McPherson

Bart Bellairs
Biographical details
Sport(s)	Basketball
Born	(1936-07-05) July 5, 1936 Cass, West Virginia
Playing career
1954–1958	Washington & Lee
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1958–1961	Bluestone HS
1961–1963	Ferrum
1963–1964	VMI (asst.)
1964–1969	VMI
1969–1974	West Virginia (asst.)
1974–1976	Alderson Broaddus
19??–1993	West Virginia (asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall	42–116

Gary McPherson (born July 5, 1936) is an American retired college basketball coach. A native of Cass, West Virginia, McPherson led the VMI Keydets for five seasons before working as a West Virginia men's basketball coach for twenty years. He was also the head coach for the Alderson Broaddus Battlers in nearby Philippi for two seasons.

Early life

McPherson was born on July 5, 1936 in Cass, West Virginia, a small town in Pocahontas County. He graduated from Green Bank High School (now known as Pocahontas County High School) in 1954 and attended college at Washington & Lee University. During his time at W&L, McPherson played on the football team, which at the time was competing in the Southern Conference, and earned a liberal arts degree.^[1]

He is the son of the late L. W. and Polly McPherson.^[2]

Coaching career

Immediately following his graduation from Washington & Lee, McPherson began coaching for Bluestone High School in Skipwith, Virginia.^[2] He was the school's head football and basketball coach. Three years later McPherson left for Ferrum Junior College where he headed the Panther's basketball program for two seasons.

VMI

In 1963, McPherson joined the VMI Keydets basketball program and became the school's first full-time assistant coach. Under Louis "Weenie" Miller, McPherson and the Keydets ran through the 1964 Southern Conference Tournament en route to their first NCAA tournament appearance.^[3] Their season was promptly ended by Princeton in the first round.

Following the departure of Miller, McPherson would take over the helm and coach the Keydets for the next five years. The team failed to continue their success from the 1964 season, and McPherson did not achieve a winning season or advance in the SoCon tournament in his tenure there. He left the Institute with a 32–77 record.

West Virginia

Though his only time as a Division I head coach had finished, McPherson dedicated much of the next forty years to West Virginia University, largely as an assistant basketball coach. McPherson first worked under Sonny Moran in the 1970s, and later with Gale Catlett through the 1980s after a brief stint with Alderson Broaddus University.^[1] His coaching career came to an end in 1993, though McPherson continued to work with West Virginia as a fundraiser and director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club.

Personal life

McPherson is married to his wife, Peggy, and the couple has two children, Chris and Missy.^[2]

In a November 2012 basketball game between VMI and West Virginia in Morgantown, McPherson was honored for his contributions to both schools in an on-court presentation.^[4] He was joined by his wife along with WVU coach Bob Huggins, former VMI players John Kemper and Steve Powers, and then-VMI Director of Athletics Donny White.

Head coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference
VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1964–1969)
1964–65	VMI	8–13	5–9
1965–66	VMI	5–18	5–11
1966–67	VMI	5–16	4–12
1967–68	VMI	9–12	8–7
1968–69	VMI	5–18	3–11
VMI:		32–77	25–50
Alderson Broaddus (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1974–1976)
1974–75	Alderson Broaddus	3–21
1975–76	Alderson Broaddus	7–18
Alderson Broaddus:		10–39
Total:		42–116
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

1 2 "Pocahontas native McPherson retiring after 40 years at WVU." Register-Herald.com. June 25, 2013.
1 2 3 "McPherson to Head WVU Athletic Development". Pocahontas Times. Marlinton, WV. November 25, 1993. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
↑ 2013–14 VMI Basketball Fact Book
↑ "McPherson to be Recognized." WVUSports.com. November 27, 2012.

VMI Keydets basketball head coaches

Pete Krebs (1908–1909)
F. J. Pratt (1909–1910)
J. Mitchell (1910–1911)
Alpha Brumage (1911–1913)
W. C. Raftery (1913–1914)
Frank Gorton (1914–1917)
Earl Abell (1917–1919)
Pinky Spruhan (1919–1922)
W. C. Raftery (1922–1934)
Frank Summers (1934–1936)
Allison Hubert (1936–1937)
Albert Elmore (1937–1938)
Jimmy Walker (1938–1942)
Pooley Hubert (1942–1943)
Joe Daher (1943–1945)
Jay McWilliams (1945–1946)
Lloyd Roberts (1946–1947)
Frank Summers (1947–1949)
Bill O'Hara (1949–1952)
Chuck Noe (1952–1955)
Jack Null (1955–1958)
Weenie Miller (1958–1964)
Gary McPherson (1964–1969)
Mike Schuler (1969–1972)
Bill Blair (1972–1976)
Charlie Schmaus (1976–1982)
Marty Fletcher (1982–1986)
Joe Cantafio (1986–1994)
Bart Bellairs (1994–2005)
Duggar Baucom (2005–2015)
Dan Earl (2015– )

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