Men's Basketball
Nov 3 (Mon)
TBD
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- orlando_early@ncsu.edu
- Phone:
- (919) 515-2104
The 2015-16 season marks assistant coach Orlando Early's fifth on the NC State men's basketball staff and his ninth season working with Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried. Over that span, the duo has produced nine winning seasons and eight NCAA Tournament berths.
With Early on staff at NC State, the Wolfpack has made four straight NCAA tourney appearances. He has helped the Wolfpack to a pair of Sweet 16 runs, in 2012 and 2015. The Wolfpack made the NCAA Second Round in 2013 and 2014. In four seasons with Early on the bench with Gottfried, NC State has won 92 games, the program's highest total since 1972-76.
Early spent four seasons (2001-05) as an assistant under Gottfried at Alabama. The Crimson Tide topped the 20-win mark three times, posted an overall 88-41 record, advanced to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, held the No. 1 national ranking, won an SEC regular-season championship and made a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight with Early on the bench. His work as an assistant coach was recognized on a national level in 2004, as Athlon Sports named him the third best assistant coach in the nation.
Early joined the Wolfpack after serving one season as an assistant coach at South Carolina. Prior to that, he spent five seasons as the head coach at Louisiana-Monroe.
Early led Louisiana-Monroe to a 60-92 record during his tenure, including a 43-24 mark in home contests. He led a squad that was heavily affected by Hurricane Katrina to a 10-18 mark during his first season (2005-06), and followed that with an 18-14 record in 2006-07 - the program's first winning season in five years. His sophomore squad collected a 14-0 mark in home contests and a share of the Sun Belt Conference West Division title in the program's first season in the league. He also guided the Warhawks to their first postseason victory since 2001-02 in the conference tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals, where they eventually fell to tournament champion North Texas.
For his efforts, Early was named Coach of the Year by four different outlets, including the Sun Belt Conference, Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and National Association of Basketball Coaches (District 8 Coach of the Year). He also concluded the 2006-07 season as a finalist for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year award.
Early began his coaching career at his alma mater, Gardner-Webb, serving as an assistant from 1993-95. He followed with a three-year stint at Western Carolina. He was an assistant coach in 1996, when the Catamounts captured the Southern Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. He served as associate head coach during his last two years at Western Carolina.
Early followed his term at WCU by continuing to climb the coaching ladder, spending three seasons (1998-01) as an assistant at Charlotte where he worked with fellow Wolfpack assistants Bobby Lutz and Rob Moxley when Lutz was the 49ers' head coach. He helped Charlotte to a pair of Conference USA titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT appearance.
Early and his wife, Jualeah, have three children: Nakita, Storm and Erica.
