Tom Richardson - Men's Basketball Coach

Tom Richardson

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
trichardson@athletics.pitt.edu
Phone:
412-648-8350

Tom Richardson enters his first season at Pitt and his 20th season with head coach Kevin Stallings. He spent the previous 13 seasons at Vanderbilt and was on Stallings staff at Illinois State from 1993-99.

Richardson, one of the top minds in the game of college basketball, is in charge of player development and offseason workouts, scheduling and also assists in recruiting and scouting.

“Tom is a trusted friend and a terrific coach,” said Stallings. “His ability to teach the fundamentals of basketball is unrivaled and I am fortunate to have him on my staff. Tom has been an excellent head coach and he will be relied on heavily as we develop our culture and instill our principles here at Pitt.”

Richardson helped guide Vanderbilt to a 270-161 record with two Sweet Sixteen appearances and seven NCAA Tournament bids. The Commodores won the 2012 SEC Championship and reached postseason play in 10 of his 13 seasons in Nashville. Richardson played a vital role in the development of SEC Players of the Year Derrick Byars (2007) and Shan Foster (2008) as well as six NBA Draft picks - Byars, Foster, Matt Freije, John Jenkins, Festus Ezeli, and Jeffery Taylor.

Richardson came to Vanderbilt after serving four years as head coach at Illinois State. He succeeded Stallings as the Redbird head coach after the two had combined to lead Illinois State to a 123-63 record in six years. During that tenure, regarded by many as the most successful in school history, the Redbirds won two Missouri Valley Conference championships, made two trips to the NCAA Tournament and had two berths in the NIT. In his four years as head coach, Richardson directed Illinois State to a 56-64 record with two second place finishes in the Missouri Valley and one trip to the NIT.

Richardson gained a reputation as an excellent shooting instructor and the Illinois State field goal and free throw percentages during his tenure are proof of that ability. He was responsible for three of the top four free throw percentage seasons and three of the top five field goal percentage seasons in Illinois State history. His 2002-03 squad led the nation, shooting 44 percent from behind the three-point line. Richardson had seven players earn all-conference honors under his watch including 2001 MVC Player of the Year Tarise Bryson. Bryson was also an honorable mention All-America selection in 2001 and finished his career seventh on the career scoring list with 1,736 points in just three seasons.

Prior to going to Illinois State, Richardson compiled a 193-146 record at Nazareth Academy High School in LaGrange, Ill., a Chicago suburb. He began the boys basketball program there and in his final 10 years had a 182-84 mark with three conference championships.

Richardson graduated from St. Xavier (Ill.) in 1977 and was a two-time basketball team captain. He was inducted into the school’s athletics Hall of Fame in 1991. He received his master’s from Chicago State in 1986. He and his wife, Nancy, have three children; Mary Beth, Katie, and Matthew, and two grandchildren, Brynn and Brayden.