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| High Point Panthers men's basketball | |||||||
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| University | High Point University | ||||||
| Head coach | Flynn Clayman (1st season) | ||||||
| Conference | Big South | ||||||
| Location | High Point, North Carolina | ||||||
| Arena | Qubein Center (capacity: 4,500) | ||||||
| Nickname | Panthers | ||||||
| Colors | Purple and white[1] | ||||||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | |||||||
| NCAA Division II 1996, 1997 | |||||||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||||||
| NCAA Division II 1996, 1997 NCAA Division I 2025 | |||||||
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| Conference regular-season champions | |||||||
| Big South: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2024, 2025 | |||||||
TheHigh Point Panthers men's basketball team is the basketball team that representsHigh Point University inHigh Point,North Carolina inNCAADivision I competition. The school's team competes in theBig South Conference. They made their first ever appearance to theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in2025.
The team, under the name High Point College,[2] began play in the1927–28 season with coach J.P. Boylin. The first game was on December 10, 1927, in a 37–35 win over the Carolina Night Hawks. The team went on to a 14–4 record. Boylin served as coach for three seasons and finished with a 39–16 record. He was followed by two seasons of coach Julian Beall who had two consecutive losing seasons and finished with a 16–21 record.[3] The team began playing as part of theNorth State Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NSC) in 1930.
Virgil Yow, a multisport star at High Point College, was hired as the third coach for the team in 1932.[4] After hovering around the .500 mark, for his first two seasons, the team went 18–4 in his third year and in the following year went 20–4 defeatingWake Forest along the way and winning the1936 NSC men's basketball tournament 49–39 overLenoir–Rhyne.
The program began playing in theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with the founding of theNAIA men's basketball championship in 1937. The team first made the NAIA tournament in 1939.
In 1944, during the height ofWorld War II, the college was facing a male student shortage and thus had difficulty filling the basketball roster. Yow recruited female student Nancy Isenhour to play on the team and she became the first woman to play on a collegiate men's basketball team.[5] Following the 1944–45 season, Yow left the school after 13 seasons, two conference championships, and two NAIA tournament appearances, to coach the Hanes HosieryAAU women's team.[6][7]
Ralph James was hired as the football and basketball coach in 1945.[8] James had previously played for Wake Forrest[9] and served as head coach forWestern Carolina in both football and basketball. He finished with a record of 81–45.Bob Davis was hired in 1950. Davis won two conference titles in three years. Davis left High Point after three seasons to coach atGeorgetown College and eventuallyAuburn.[10]
Following eight years coaching women's basketball and three AAU national titles, Yow returned to High Point. He coached nine more seasons before retiring with a record of 342–215.
Tom Quinn was announced as the head coach in 1962, coming fromNewberry College and had previously won theConference Carolinas title.[11] He served in the capacity for four years compiling a record of 95–22. His teams made the NAIA tournament twice and won the Conference Carolinas tournament twice. He left to be the coach ofEast Carolina.[12]
Jerry Steele was hired in 1972 as the 10th head coach of the team. Steele had previously served as head coach of the professionalABA team theCarolina Cougars. He coached at High Point for 32 years, from 1972 to 2003. He won eight conference titles, made one appearance in the NAIA tournament.
Beginning in the 1993–94 academic year, the school and conference began transitioning toNCAA Division II. During his last decade, Steele earned two trips to theNCAA Division II men's basketball tournament. The team left Conference Carolinas in 1997 and joined theBig South Conference in 1999 and transitioned toNCAA Division I. His record at High Point was 493–412, making him the winningest coach in program history. Steele retired after the end of the 2002–03 season.
Bart Lundy who had takenQueens (NC) to the2003 NCAA Division II Final Four, was hired to be the head coach. He went on to coach six seasons, compiling a record of 96–87, and leaving in 2009.
Scott Cherry was hired as coach on March 26, 2009. In his fourth year, the team won the Big South north division, earning them a spot in the2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, this was the school's first postseason appearance since joining NCAA Division I. The following year, he again led the Panthers to a Big South north division championship, and the regular season championship, another program first. The Panthers were invited to the2014 National Invitation Tournament, losing in the first round toMinnesota. Cherry led High Point to the best start in school history in 2014–15 campaign, starting the season 14–3. They qualified for the2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Cherry mutually agreed to part ways with the school in 2018.[13]
Former High Point player and1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship coach withKentucky,Tubby Smith, was hired to be the team's head coach after having been fired byMemphis a few weeks prior. Additionally, a new arena was announced for the school.[14] Smith never had a winning record in his five seasons and resigned in favor of his sonG. G. Smith. His son was fired the season after.[15]
Creighton assistant coachAlan Huss was hired on March 27, 2023.[16] He won the Big South regular season title in his first season. His second season he won the Big South regular season and tournament titles, which earned the team its first berth in the NCAA Division I tournament where they lost to Purdue in the first round.[17] Huss went on to compile a 56–15 record in his two seasons before leaving HPU to return to Creighton as the head-coach-in-waiting for current Blue Jays' coachGreg McDermott on April 10, 2025.[18]
On April 11, 2025, a day after Huss departed HPU, Panthers associate head coach Clayman was promoted to the position.[19]
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The Panthers have appeared in theNCAA Division I tournament one time. Their record is 0–1.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13 | First round | #4 Purdue | L 63–75 |
The Panthers have appeared in theNCAA Division II tournament two times. Their combined record is 2–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals | Presbyterian Queens (NC) | W 76–67 L 70–81 |
| 1997 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals | Pittsburgh–Johnstown Salem International | W 94–92OT L 82–91 |
The Panthers have appeared in theNational Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their record is 0–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | First round | Minnesota | L 81–88 |
| 2016 | First round | South Carolina | L 66–88 |
The Panthers have appeared in theCollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) two times. Their record is 1–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | First round | UC Irvine | L 71–80 |
| 2015 | First round Second Round | Maryland Eastern Shore Eastern Kentucky | W 70–64 L 65–66 |
The Panthers have appeared in theNAIA tournament seven times. Their combined record is 7–7.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | First round | Peru State | L 46–55 |
| 1942 | First round Second Round | Yankton Central Missouri State | W 44–37 L 40–59 |
| 1946 | First round | Houston | L 34–63 |
| 1964 | First round Second Round Quarterfinals | Ferris State Georgia Southern Emporia State | W 86–70 W 85–76 L 78–90 |
| 1965 | First round Second Round | California Western Winston–Salem State | W 79–57 L 62–78 |
| 1969 | First round Second Round Quarterfinals | Missouri–Saint Louis Whittier Eastern New Mexico | W 102–90 W 100–82 L 73–77 |
| 1979 | First round Second Round | Oregon Tech Briar Cliff | W 91–62 L 65–76 |
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