Gary Garner Biography
Gary Garner starts the 2003-04' season with 340 wins as a collegiate head basketball coach. The Southeast Missouri State team is looking for big things this season as Garner and his staff have a veteran team with possibly the best recruiting class in the schools history. Some of the highwater marks for the Indians during Garners tenure at Southeast Missouri indicate virtually anything is possible in the upcoming 2003-04' season. The 1999-00' Southeast team ended Murray State's nation leading 47 game home winning streak, were the Ohio Valley Conference regular season co-champions with a stellar 14-4 OVC record, captured the OVC post-season tournament crown and went to the NCAA Tournament. The Indians gave LSU all they wanted before losing a aqueaker in the first round 67-64. The 24 wins was the most the Indians had posted since they began playing NCAA Division I basketball. The 1998-99 Indians posted a record of 20-9 with Garner being named Co-Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year, he was the runnerup following the 1999-00' season. Coming off uncharacteristic sub-par seasons the Indians appear poised to return to the prominent level in the 2003-04' season they had enjoyed in seasons past. Prior to coming to Southeast Missouri State Gary Garner had coached Fort Hays State to their first ever NCAA Division II national championship in 1996. The Tigers completed the 1995-96' season in the rarest of forms, they won all 34 games they played for a perfect 34-0 season. The next season, 1996-97' they had a remarkable 29-2 record. Garner's combined 2 year record was 63-2 making him the winningest collegiate coach in that period. During this period Garner's Tigers had a winning streak of 49 straight games, the fourth longest in college basketball history. Garner coached Fort Hays to four consecutive NCAA II tournament appearances. He was named the NCAA II Coach of the Year by Basketball Times in 1997 and Sears/National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year in 1996. Garner was head coach at Drake for seven years (1981-1988). He became the third winningest coach in Drake history. Garner coached the 1986 team to the NIT tournament. He was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1982 and was runnerup for the same honor in 1986. Garner and his wife Barbara are parents of two boys, Matt and Jon. Some of his accomplishments are:
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