2008 Woodie Awards
St. Joe's alumnus enjoys success as head coach of Episcopal basketball program
Matt Wison '08
Issue date: 5/10/08 Section: Sports
When Dan Dougherty graduated from what was then Saint Joseph's College in 1967, he didn't travel very far.
For 32 years now, the 72-year-old Dougherty has been head coach of The Episcopal Academy's men's basketball team. He also teaches math at the school. When Episcopal heads to Newtown Square this summer after transferring its property to Dougherty's alma mater, for the first time in a long time, Dougherty won't head to a campus on City Avenue.
"I'm going to miss this venue here for selfish reasons because I live close to there," Dougherty joked. "I think it's very interesting that you have to take a step behind to go forward. You have to leave something behind, but you will discover new things."
While it is impossible to carry all of the traditions and character of the old campus over to the new, Episcopal will no doubt take one important thing: a successful high school basketball program and the coach that helped to make it so.
During his long tenure at Episcopal, Dougherty has produced several memorable teams. Most recently, his 2005 team went 27-4, including a perfect 10-0 in the Inter-Academic League. From that team came two Division I college basketball stars: Gerald Henderson, now at Duke University, and Wayne Ellington, now at the University of North Carolina. Dougherty won the FedEx National Coach of the Year Award in 2006 for his efforts with that team.
"I've had three great runs, great years with Wayne and Gerald," Dougherty said. "In years past, we've had similar runs. For example, when Bruiser [Flint] played here, we were 110-8. We had another run before that when we were 115-7 over a five-year period."
Before earning the head coaching job at Episcopal at age 40, Dougherty was an assistant coach at Villanova University from 1966-71 and head coach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from 1971-75.
"I'm a trivia question, did you know that?" Dougherty asked with a chuckle. "Who was the head coach at West Point in between Coach [Bob] Knight and Coach [Mike] Krzyzewski? That was me."
For 32 years now, the 72-year-old Dougherty has been head coach of The Episcopal Academy's men's basketball team. He also teaches math at the school. When Episcopal heads to Newtown Square this summer after transferring its property to Dougherty's alma mater, for the first time in a long time, Dougherty won't head to a campus on City Avenue.
"I'm going to miss this venue here for selfish reasons because I live close to there," Dougherty joked. "I think it's very interesting that you have to take a step behind to go forward. You have to leave something behind, but you will discover new things."
While it is impossible to carry all of the traditions and character of the old campus over to the new, Episcopal will no doubt take one important thing: a successful high school basketball program and the coach that helped to make it so.
During his long tenure at Episcopal, Dougherty has produced several memorable teams. Most recently, his 2005 team went 27-4, including a perfect 10-0 in the Inter-Academic League. From that team came two Division I college basketball stars: Gerald Henderson, now at Duke University, and Wayne Ellington, now at the University of North Carolina. Dougherty won the FedEx National Coach of the Year Award in 2006 for his efforts with that team.
"I've had three great runs, great years with Wayne and Gerald," Dougherty said. "In years past, we've had similar runs. For example, when Bruiser [Flint] played here, we were 110-8. We had another run before that when we were 115-7 over a five-year period."
Before earning the head coaching job at Episcopal at age 40, Dougherty was an assistant coach at Villanova University from 1966-71 and head coach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from 1971-75.
"I'm a trivia question, did you know that?" Dougherty asked with a chuckle. "Who was the head coach at West Point in between Coach [Bob] Knight and Coach [Mike] Krzyzewski? That was me."
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