SCSU Hoops

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Senior Zoran Kos
HEAD COACH ART LEARY

In his 24th season as Southern Connecticut State University�s head coach, Art Leary guided his team to to the finest season in Southern history in 1996-97. The Owls had a 28-4 won-lost record, won the NCAA Northeast regional, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Louisville, KY before losing to eventual national champion Cal. State - Bakersfield, 65-62.

Southern has enjoyed its greatest basketball success under Leary�s tutelage. The Owls reached NCAA Division II postseason tournaments in 1981-82 and 1982-83. The Owls just missed a postseason birth in 1995-96, finishing with a 17-12 record. Last year's squad finished 25-4, ranked #4 in the final Division II national poll and made it all the way to the NCAA regional semifinals. In 22 seasons, Leary�s teams have a 324-307 record. Southern�s 28 wins in 1996-97 eclipsed the previous record of 23 in 1982-83.

A Meriden native, Leary was basketball captain and most valuable player at Platt High School, earning all-CCIL and honorable mention All-State honors as a senior. He went on to star at Quinnipiac College, helping his teams to NAIA regional tournaments in his junior and senior years. Leary is a member of the Quinnipiac College hall of fame and is among the Braves� all-time scoring leaders with 1,178 points.

The former Quinnipiac captain spent seven seasons as the primary aide to Braves� Coach Burt Kahn and established a reputation as one of the region�s top recruiters. He helped guide the Braves to a pair of NAIA New England titles, three ECAC Division II-II championships and one NCAA Division II tournament.

Leary, a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, is a professor at Southern with an emphasis in sports management.

He and his wife, Nancy, have two sons- A.J., a 1992 graduate of Catholic University, and Brendan, the all-time leading scorer at Wesleyan University and a former Owl assistant Coach.

THE LEARY YEARS