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RON LIEVENSE – HEAD COACH

Ron Lievense, the winningest men's coach in Barton's NCAA D-II history with an impressive 209-102 record (67.2 percent), is beginning his 12th season in Wilson after leading the Bulldogs to a 31-5 record and the NCAA D-II National Championship in the 2006-07 basketball season.

 

Lievense, the 2006-07 National Association of Basketball Coaches National Coach of the year, has led his team to back-to-back Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference and East Region championships, as well as two straight trips to the Elite Eight in Springfield, MA.

He was also the CVAC and East Region Coach of the Year the past two years. Lievense earned 100 Barton victories faster than any other Bulldog coach (after 180 games). He has coached eight regionally ranked teams and has taken four teams to the NCAA Tournament (1997, 2003, 2006, 2007). Not only have his teams attained regional and national recognition, but the Bulldogs have been very strong in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (CVAC), winning 147 of 217 games (67.7 percent), including a sparkling 37-3 record the past two seasons en route to regular season and tournament titles in the league that has won the last eight East Region championships.

 

He has been voted Coach of the Year in the CVAC four times (1997, 2003, 2006 and 2007) and has been blessed to coach seven teams to the best records in the school's NCAA D-II history: 22-5 in 1997; 19-9 in 2002; 22-6 in 2003; 17-10 in 2004; 18-11 in 2005; 28-4 in 2006; and 31-5 in 2007. He has coached two first-team All-Americans in Tim Black and Anthony Atkinson (the Elite Eight MVP this past season) and has a 10-3 record in four NCAA appearances.

 

Lievense has a vast coaching background that covers 26 years of college basketball. He previously coached at Saint Andrews College (D-II), Campbell University (D-I), Averett University (D-III), Winona State University (D-II), Normandale Community College and Thomas Jefferson High School .

 

He played prep basketball at Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington , MN , where his team won the state title. Collegiately, he played at Normandale Community College for two years and at Northwestern College in St. Paul , MN , his final two years…where he earned All-American honors while leading his team to the National Christian Colleges Athletic Association D-II title as a senior.

 

He earned an Associate Arts degree from Normandale Community College , a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Thomas College , and a Master of Science degree from Winona State University .

Lievense, who played for his father at Normandale, is married to Darla K. Lievense. They have three daughters; Tiffany 17, Kristy 15, and Angela 12.

 

Lievense has also been one of Barton's sponsors for a vibrant Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter since its inception nine years ago.

             

               Ron Lievense era at Barton

 

Year       Overall         CVAC       Home       Away     Neut   NCAA

1996-97   22-5               17-3          14-0            7-3         1-2       0-1

1997-98   14-13             10-8            8-1           3-10        3-2

1998-99   12-14             8-10            9-4           2-10        1-0

1999-00   13-14              9-9             8-3           5-10         0-1

2000-01   13-14             10-12         11-2          2-12         0-0

2001-02   19-6               14-6           12-1            6-7         1-1

2002-03   22-6               17-3             9-1            8-2         0-0      1-1

2003-04   17-10             12-9             9-3            7-7         1-0

2004-05   18-11             13-7             9-4            8-4         1-3

2005-06   28-4               18-2            15-1          11-2        2-1      3-1

2006-07   31-5               19-1            17-1          10-3        6-1      6-0

Totals     209-102       147-70        121-21        69-70    13-11   10-3

                (.669)           (.677)          (.852)         (.496)   (.542)   (.769)  

 

 

JOEL ZIMMERMAN -- ASSISTANT COACH

Joel Zimmerman is in his second season with the Bulldogs as an assistant coach. He helped coach Barton to the NCAA D-II National Championship after spending a year as an assistant coach with CVAC member Anderson (S.C.) University.

Zimmerman was the starting point guard on the Anderson basketball team during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons after transferring from Roane State in Harriman, TN. His 2001-02 Trojans squad won the CVAC regular-season championship with him directing the attack.

He was a cum laude graduate at Anderson with a Bachelor of Arts in History and won the History Department Award his senior year.

After graduating from Anderson, Zimmeman spent 2 1/2 years working with Caddiemaster Inc., a corporate golf hospitality company.

It was Zimmerman's affiliation with Anderson as a coach and player, and Coach Lievense's knowledge of his work ethic and contributions to that program, that led to Zimmerman joining the Barton staff. Ironically, Zimmerman, like Lievense, played for his father (at Cookeville High School  in Tennessee).

His duties at Barton include recruiting coordinator, strength & conditioning, development of perimeter players, scouting, film exchanges, and practice and game-day coaching. Zimmerman is also the school's assistant compliance director.

 

JOHN SKINNER JR. -- ASSISTANT COACH

 

John Skinner is in his third season as an assistant coach at Barton and has taken on a larger role by evaluating prospects, scouting opponents and becoming more involved in the day-to-day activities of the team.

Skinner worked with the basketball team at UNC – Chapel Hill from 1990 – 1994 as a manager and statistician for Coach Dean Smith's Tar Heels. He has worked as an assistant varsity coach and junior varsity head coach for three years at Community Christian School in Wilson , NC.