 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1945-06-18)June 18, 1945 (age 79) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | St. Mary of the Plains College Kansas State University |
| Playing career | |
| 1964–1965 | Marquette |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1972–1973 | Red Bank Regional HS |
| 1973–1976 | Brick Township HS |
| 1976–1980 | Notre Dame (assistant) |
| 1980–1986 | Ohio |
| 1986–2000 | Nebraska |
| 2000–2001 | Robert Morris |
| 2001–2006 | Duquesne |
| 2008–2009 | Rutgers (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | Towson (assistant) |
| 2010–2014 | Merchant Marine |
| 2015–present | Gateway HS (assistant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 461–433 (college) |
| Tournaments | 1–7 (NCAA Division I) 12–5 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NIT (1996) MAC regular season (1985) 2MAC tournament (1983,1985) Big Eight tournament (1994) | |
| Awards | |
| 2xMAC Coach of the Year (1983, 1985) Big Eight Coach of the Year (1991) Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame University of Nebraska Hall of Fame | |
Daniel Hugh Nee (born June 18, 1945) is an Americanbasketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach atOhio University from 1980 to 1986, theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1986 to 2000,Robert Morris University in 2000–01,Duquesne University from 2001 to 2006, and theUnited States Merchant Marine Academy from 2010 to 2014, compiling a careercollege basketball coaching record of 461–433.
Born Daniel Hugh Nee,[1] Danny Nee grew up in his nativeBrooklyn, New York.[2] His father Patrick immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland.[3] "Rough is what I grew up knowing, and it's what I still know," said Nee in an interview withSports Illustrated in 1991.[4]
Nee played high school basketball atPower Memorial Academy alongside future NBA Hall of FamerKareem Abdul-Jabbar.[5] After his junior year in 1963, Nee was expelled from Power Memorial for participating in a gang fight.[4]
For his senior year, Nee transferred toFort Hamilton High School and was recruited toMarquette University byAl McGuire.[4] Nee was captain of the freshman team but dropped out of Marquette after one year.[3] In 1967, Nee enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps.[3] With the Marines, Nee served in theVietnam War and was honorably discharged in 1968.[6]
Resuming his college education in the U.S., Nee earned a bachelor's degree in English and physical education fromSt. Mary of the Plains College in 1971 and anM.S. in physical education fromKansas State University in 1972,[6] his master's thesis being titledIntramural programs in theBig Eight universities.[1]
After earning his degrees, Nee coached high school basketball inNew Jersey, first atRed Bank Regional High School from 1972 to 1973 andBrick Township High School from 1973 to 1976 before being recruited as an assistant atNotre Dame byDigger Phelps, where he would coach until hired by Ohio to his first collegiate head coaching appointment.[7]
Nee served as head coach of theOhio Bobcats men's basketball team for seven years (1980–1986), where he helped rebuild the program which had suffered through several losing seasons, and led the team to twoMAC Tournament titles (1983 and1985), twoNCAA tournament appearances (1983 and1985), and oneNational Invitation Tournament appearance (1986).[8] In 1993 he was inducted into theKermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame.[9]
Following Nee's tenure at Ohio, he became the coach of theNebraska Cornhuskers from 1986 to 2000. Nee took a historically lackluster Husker program to the next level, leading Nebraska to five NCAA Tournament appearances from1991–1994 and in1998. They won theBig Eight tournament championship in1994. His1996 squad won theNIT Championship.
On March 13, 2000, athletic directorBill Byrne fired Nee with three years left on Nee's contract.[10] Nee has since been inducted into the Hall of Fame at the University of Nebraska and still holds the record for most wins in school history.
After Nebraska, Nee went toRobert Morris University for the 2000-2001 season. In the spring of 2001, he was named head coach ofDuquesne University'sDuquesne Dukes. Nee officially resigned as head coach after the season's final game on March 4, 2006.
Nee spent the next two years as a scout for theNBA'sUtah Jazz. In September 2008, Nee joinedFred Hill's staff atRutgers University as Director of Player Development.[11]
In July 2009,Towson University hired Nee as an assistant coach onPat Kennedy's staff.[12]
On October 4, 2010, theUnited States Merchant Marine Academy named Nee its head men's basketball coach.[13] He was suspended for the final 12 games of the 2013-14 season for a locker room temper tantrum and subsequently fired. In four years, he managed a record that was one game over .500.[14]
In 2015, Nee joined the staff atGateway High School inMonroeville, Pennsylvania as an assistant coach.[5] The same year, he also became head coach of the Basketball Stars of AmericaAAU club. He coached the South Fayette Boys Freshman basketball team from 2020-2022.[15]
Nebraska was awarded a forfeit victory over Texas Tech during the 1996–97 season. Nebraska originally lost that game, 87–74. This game is not reflected in the totals below.[16] Duquesne was awarded a forfeit victory over St. Bonaventure during the 2002–03 season. Duquesne originally lost that game, 86–78. This game is not reflected in the totals below.[17]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Bobcats(Mid-American Conference[18])(1980–1986) | |||||||||
| 1980–81 | Ohio | 7–20 | 6–10 | T–7th | |||||
| 1981–82 | Ohio | 13–14 | 8–8 | T–4th | |||||
| 1982–83 | Ohio | 23–9 | 12–6 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 1983–84 | Ohio | 20–8 | 14–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 1984–85 | Ohio | 22–8 | 14–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 1985–86 | Ohio | 22–8 | 14–4 | 2nd | NIT First Round | ||||
| Ohio: | 107–67 (.615) | 68–36 (.654) | |||||||
| Nebraska Cornhuskers(Big Eight Conference[19])(1986–1996) | |||||||||
| 1986–87 | Nebraska | 21–12 | 7–7 | 5th | NIT Third Place | ||||
| 1987–88 | Nebraska | 13–18 | 4–10 | T–6th | |||||
| 1988–89 | Nebraska | 17–16 | 4–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1989–90 | Nebraska | 10–18 | 3–11 | 7th | |||||
| 1990–91 | Nebraska | 26–8 | 9–5 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 1991–92 | Nebraska | 19–10 | 7–7 | 5th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 1992–93 | Nebraska | 20–11 | 8–6 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 1993–94 | Nebraska | 20–10 | 7–7 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 1994–95 | Nebraska | 18–14 | 4–10 | 7th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Nebraska | 21–14 | 4–10 | 7th | NIT champion | ||||
| Nebraska Cornhuskers(Big 12 Conference[20])(1996–2000) | |||||||||
| 1996–97 | Nebraska | 18–15 | 7–9 | T–7th | NIT Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1997–98 | Nebraska | 20–12 | 10–6 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 1998–99 | Nebraska | 20–13 | 10–6 | T–5th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1999–00 | Nebraska | 11–19 | 4–12 | T–8th | |||||
| Nebraska: | 254–190 (.572) | 88–116 (.431) | |||||||
| Robert Morris Colonials(Northeast Conference[21])(2000–2001) | |||||||||
| 2000–01 | Robert Morris | 7–22 | 7–13 | T–9th | |||||
| Robert Morris: | 7–22 (.241) | 7–13 (.350) | |||||||
| Duquesne Dukes(Atlantic 10 Conference[17])(2001–2006) | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | Duquesne | 9–19 | 4–12 | 6th(West) | |||||
| 2002–03 | Duquesne | 9–21 | 3–13 | 6th(West) | |||||
| 2003–04 | Duquesne | 12–17 | 6–10 | 5th(West) | |||||
| 2004–05 | Duquesne | 8–22 | 5–11 | T–5th(West) | |||||
| 2005–06 | Duquesne | 3–24 | 1–15 | 14th | |||||
| Duquesne: | 41–103 (.285) | 19–61 (.238) | |||||||
| Merchant Marine Mariners(Landmark Conference[22])(2010–2014) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | Merchant Marine | 14–12 | 8–6 | 4th | |||||
| 2011–12 | Merchant Marine | 12–13 | 7–7 | T–4th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Merchant Marine | 14–12 | 7–7 | 4th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Merchant Marine | 12–14 | 6–8 | T–4th | |||||
| Merchant Marine: | 52–51 (.505) | 28–28 (.500) | |||||||
| Total: | 461–433 (.516) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||