Philadelphia U.'s Magee gets 900th coaching win

Everything was in place to celebrate Herb Magee's 900th career NCAA coaching victory. On standby at Philadelphia University was a commemorative basketball, maroon-colored T-shirts with Magee's retired No. 4 in white on the back, and the adjoining court had been turned into a celebration room.

The Rams' opponent, visiting Bloomfield College, didn't make it easy, but Magee's club turned back the Deacons, 81-77, yesterday in a taut Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchup and clinched another milestone for the 43d-year coach.

Magee, with photographers and video cameras closely following his every move in the final minute, earned win No. 900 and inched closer to eclipsing the NCAA mark of 902 set by Bobby Knight in stays at Army, Indiana, and Texas Tech.

Afterward, Magee, 68, hurried up the stairs of the bleachers behind Philadelphia University's bench and unfurled a banner recognizing his latest accomplishment.

"I never expected these things," said Magee, NCAA Division II's all-time winningest coach. "I didn't get into coaching thinking I would get a certain number of victories. I'm in it for the players. It's the players who keep you tuned into teaching, recruiting, and the other things that go along with the job."

The victory also marked the 30th 20-win season for Magee, who attended West Catholic and played with close friends and future St. Joseph's coaches Jim Boyle and Jim Lynam.

"Bo, God bless him, he would have loved this," Magee said of the late Boyle. "He would have been here rooting, cheering, and hollering."

Among the crowd of approximately 1,500 at the Gallagher Center's Magee Court were Magee's wife, Geri; two daughters, Kay and Eileen; his brother, Chas; and his granddaughters, Katie, 13, and Karly, 11.

"We're real excited and proud of him," said Kay Magee, who assists her father in running his off-season camps and clinics.

Herb Magee trails only Knight in the NCAA ranks. Meanwhile, Don Meyer - who coaches Division II Northern State - had 921 wins going into a game last night, but those victories were accumulated coaching at the NCAA college and at a pair of NAIA schools.

When it comes to Magee and Meyer, Kay Magee said it's "like comparing apples and oranges" because Meyer, who was seriously injured in a car wreck in September 2008, coached close to 40 games in most of his 10 seasons with NAIA Lipscomb, once racking up 41 wins.

"I'm sure that the record doesn't matter to him," Herb Magee said. "And I'll be the same way if someone passes me one day. I'll be happy for that person. Records are meant to be broken."

The Rams (20-6 overall, 12-1 CACC) have four games remaining before the playoffs. If they win the next two, both on the road, Magee would have a shot at eclipsing Knight's mark of 902 against Goldey-Beacom at home on Feb. 23.

More important to Magee, of course, is the development of his players, on and off the hardwood.

"He means everything to me," said forward Malcolm Ingram, a 6-foot-4 senior who recorded 22 points and nine rebounds in the win over Bloomfield. "He brought me here, he motivated me, he looked after me. He cares about you more as a person than as a basketball player."