Louis Orr Last College: Syracuse, '80 Position: Head Coach Experience: Second Season

Louis Orr, a success as both a player and a coach, was named head men's basketball coach at Bowling Green State University in April of 2007. Orr, a native of Cincinnati, has performed one of the top coaching jobs in the Mid-American Conference in his first two seasons in Northwest Ohio and was named MAC Coach of the Year for the work he did during the 2008-09 season.

The 2008-09 season was a banner year for the Bowling Green men's basketball program. Orr led the team to a share of the MAC Eastern Division championship, the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament, and a bid to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The Falcons set the program record with six consecutive road conference victories and finished 19-14, a six-win improvement over Orr's first year at the helm.

A fierce competitor and defensive-minded coach who stresses toughness and humility, Orr's programs play in the same image that he projected as a collegiate All-American and as an eight-year NBA veteran.

Orr, 50, is the 15th head coach in the history of the Falcon program. Prior to BGSU, he was the head coach at Seton Hall University from 2001-06, where he compiled a record of 80-69 in those five seasons with the Pirates. Orr, the first former Big East player to coach at a conference institution, is now 132-111 in eight overall seasons as a head coach.

Orr took over a BGSU program that lost two starters from the previous year, including the MAC's leading scorer. On the eve of the 2007-08 season, Orr lost his most experienced post player when Erik Marschall went down with an injury in October. Then, the Falcons lost arguably their top playmaker and the team's only senior on the eve of the conference schedule when Ryne Hamblet was declared academically ineligible.

Still, BGSU more than doubled the MAC win total for all of the prior season, going 7-9 in league play after the team went 3-13 in 2006-07. The Falcons posted wins over the teams picked to finish first, second and third in the Eastern Division in the league's preseason poll. Those wins included a victory over Kent State, a nationally-ranked team at the time and the eventual MAC champion.

The 2008-09 team built off of that foundation and exceeded preseason expectations, as the team was picked to finish third in the division by the MAC News Media Association. BGSU went 11-5 in conference play to share the division crown with Buffalo. By virtue of a season sweep over the Bulls, the Falcons earned the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament and the conference's automatic bid to the NIT.

Along the way, the team established itself as a legitimate candidate to win the MAC by winning their first six games in Anderson Arena and developing a formula for success on the road. The Falcons lost their first seven road games but eventually became the best road team in the conference. A 52-51 win at Ohio in front of 10,988 fans sparked the team to six consecutive conference wins in hostile environments, the longest MAC streak since Kent State won seven in a row in 2001-02.

With the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament on the line, Bowling Green blew out Ohio 75-41 at home on the last day of the regular season. The Falcons went on to win a MAC Tournament quarterfinal game and advance to the semifinals for the first time in seven years. After a hard-fought loss to Akron, BGSU went to the NIT, pushing No. 1 seed Creighton to the brink of defeat, eventually losing 73-71 to end the Falcons' season.

Prior to his time at Bowling Green, Orr was named the Big East Conference's Coach of the Year in 2003, becoming the first person in league history to receive league honors as a player and as a coach. He took the Pirates to two NCAA tournaments and one NIT during his tenure. After the 2002-03 season, Orr also was honored by the USBWA as its District II Coach of the Year.

During his tenure with the Pirates, his teams posted a nine-game overall winning streak and captured eight straight conference games during the 2002-03 season. He also saw his squad defeat No. 10 Notre Dame in 2003, and No. 13 Syracuse, No. 23 Providence and No. 4 Pittsburgh during the 2004 season.

The Pirates advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships in 2004 and knocked off No. 18 Arizona in the first round. In 2006, Seton Hall made its second trip to the Big Dance. He began his head coaching career in the 2000-01 season at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. In his lone season there (2000-01), he guided the Saints to a 20-11 overall record and a tie for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season title. In addition, he was one of the top rookie coaches in college basketball with 20 wins and his team set an attendance record averaging 6,400 fans per game.

Orr began his coaching career as an assistant under Pete Gillen at Xavier University in his hometown, spending four years there (1991-94). He also served assistant coaching stints at Providence College (1994-96) and Syracuse (1996-2000), helping those three teams to a combined four NCAA tourney appearances and four NIT trips. SU went to the NCAA tourney three times (1998 through 2000) during his four years there, including two trips to the Sweet 16.

Orr, a star player out of Cincinnati's Withrow H.S., attended Syracuse University, where he was the first recruit of head coach Jim Boeheim. Orr was a sixth man for much of his freshman year (1976-77), before starting every game but one over his last three seasons.

Orr shot better than 50 percent from the field in each of his four years, teaming with Roosevelt Bouie (the `Bouie `N Louie Show') to help SU to the Big East regular-season championship in the conference's inaugural season in 1980. That season, his senior year, Orr was named the team's MVP and was an All-Big East First-Team selection. SU posted a record of 100-18 during his four years, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons.

Orr earned All-America honors his senior season. He scored nearly 1,500 points (1,487) during his SU career, averaging 12.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game over his 116-game career while shooting 55.5% from the field.

The 28th pick of the 1980 NBA Draft, Orr was chosen by the Indiana Pacers in the first round. He played two seasons with the Pacers and six more with the New York Knicks. Orr averaged 9.8 points per game over his professional career, with a career-high 12.7 for the Knicks in the 1984-85 campaign.

He was named to the Syracuse University All-Century Team in 2000 and was honored as a Syracuse Letterwinner of Distinction in 2006. He and his teams are also active in the community having worked with Renovation House, Children's Specialized Hospital and the New Jersey Developmental Center during his stay at Seton Hall. He also has assisted at Rescue Missions in Albany and Syracuse, N.Y.

His family includes wife Yvette, daughter Monica (25), a former basketball player at Fordham, goddaughter Dalria (25), and son Chauncey (15). Yvette is from nearby Ypsilanti, Mich.