2017-18 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year Matt Figger built on an outstanding first season in Clarksville and led the Govs to new heights in his second season. Now heading into Year Four, with the league’s top 1-2 punch at his disposal, Figger has the Govs poised for greatness.
With Terry Taylor playing at an OVC Player of the Year level and Jordyn Adams the nation’s No. 4 scorer among freshmen, Figger’s Govs reached the OVC Tournament semifinals for the third straight season for the first time since 2009. Austin Peay has enjoyed 39 league wins under his tutelage, its most in a three-year stretch since 2008-10 era, and his .620 winning percentage is the best three-year start by a Governor head coach in program history.
In his second season, the Govs reached 20 victories for the first time since 2010-11, winning the in-season St. Pete Shootout and again advancing to the OVC Tournament semifinals--the second time in as many years under Figger and third time in four years overall. The Governors success in the OVC made Figger the first Austin Peay coach with double-digit conference wins in his first two seasons and put the Govs over the 10-win plateau in league play in back-to-back years for the first time since 2009-10 and 2010-11. The Govs built a successful season in a hurry, reaching 20 wins in fewer games than any APSU team since 2003-04 and at the earliest date by an Austin Peay squad since 1977.
Under Figger’s tutelage, the Governors made one of the NCAA’s largest defensive turnarounds in 2017-18; Austin Peay went from allowing 83.8 points per game (ppg) the previous season to 71.2 ppg in 2017-18, with the -12.6 drop in points per game the second-largest in the nation behind only Central Michigan (-16.1 ppg). Some of those single-game milestones included holding Alabama A&M to 47 points on Dec. 2—the first time APSU held an opponent below 50 points since Brescia in 2010 and the first Division I foe the Govs held below 50 since 2008 against Samford.
Overall, Figger’s defensive unit held seven opponents below 60 points during the regular season, winning all seven contests; Austin Peay had held just seven opponents below 60 points in the previous four seasons combined.
The Govs under Figger proved to be a pesky defensive unit, winning the turnover margin by double-digits on three occasions and forcing an average of 23.6 turnovers per game from Nov. 16 (Oakland City) to Dec. 6 (Illinois). And when injuries and illness took a toll, Figger proved he could do more with less, winning late-January contests against Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State despite dressing just nine players.
On Thursday, April 6, 2017, Matt Figger was introduced as the 12th head men's basketball coach in Austin Peay State University history.
Figger came to Austin Peay on the heels of a whirlwind Final Four run as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator under Frank Martin at South Carolina. The Gamecocks were the East Region champion, taking down Marquette, Duke, Baylor and Florida on the way to Phoenix.
After arriving at South Carolina in 2012, Figger assisted Martin in the revival of a program that hadn't enjoyed a 20-win season since 2008-09, had not advanced to an NCAA Tournament since 2003-04 and had not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1973. After winning 14 games the first two seasons in Columbia, Figger and Co. broke .500 for the first time in 2014-15, finishing 17-16, then won 25 games and reached as high as No. 19 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll last season.
In case you somehow missed it, the Gamecocks became NCAA Tournament darlings in March 2017. After bowing out to Alabama in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, the seventh-seeded Gamecocks thrashed Marquette, 93-73, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, erased a double-digit lead to score a mighty upset of second-seeded Duke to advance to the Sweet 16 and toppled Baylor 70-50 to advance to the East Region championship game against fellow SEC foe Florida.
Trailing at halftime for the third time during the NCAA Tournament, the Gamecocks shut down the Gators three-point assault in the second half and fed SEC Player of the Year Sindarius Thornwell—a find of Figger's in his capacity as Martin's recruiting coordinator—for a game-high 26 points and East Regional Most Outstanding Player honors. The Gamecocks were finally knocked out of the tournament by West top seed and top-ranked Gonzaga in the Final Four.
Two players on the Gamecocks Final Four squad got their NBA chance in June 2017--Thornwell, the 48th overall selection in the NBA Draft, with the Los Angeles Clippers via draft night trade with Milwaukee, and PJ Dozier, who inked a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Figger served on Martin's staff dating back to 2007, Martin's first season at Kansas State. In his decade on Martin's staff, Figger served in a variety of roles, assuming the associate head coach role in 2013-14 upon Brad Underwood's departure for Stephen F. Austin.
At Kansas State, Figger was on a staff that secured at least 21 wins and finished fifth or better in the Big 12 each season. In his first season on staff, Kansas State won its first NCAA Tournament game since 1988 after posting a 20-win season—just its fourth since 1990. The 2009-10 team won a school-record 29 games and appeared in the programs first Elite Eight in over two decades, defeating six ranked opponents along the way and finishing the year ranked seventh in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top-25 polls.
At both Kansas State and South Carolina, Figger served as recruiting coordinator. He inked two McDonald's All-Americans at Kansas State, including Michael Beasley, who would earn National Freshman and Player of the Year in 2008 before becoming a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. Beasley was one of four All-Americans—along with Denis Clemente, Jacob Pullen and Bill Walker—tutored by Figger at Kansas State.
Figger's first Division I coaching experience came with John Pelphrey at South Alabama, helping lead the Jaguars to a Sun Belt Tournament title in 2006 and a regular-season championship in 2007. After building through recruiting the first three years under Pelphrey, the Jaguars broke through in 2006 with 24 wins, a 14-game improvement that was the biggest turnaround in the NCAA that season. Figger helpd the Jaguars advance to their first NCAA Tournament since 1998, where the bowed out to eventual national champion Florida in the first round.
Figger joined Pelphrey for three months at Arkansas in 2007 as director of operations before signing on at Kansas State as an assistant coach.
In his Division I stops at South Carolina, Kansas State and South Alabama, Figger made three NIT and six NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Sweet 16 and two Elite Eight appearances, in addition to the 2017 Final Four. Â
Figger earned his coaching stripes in the junior college ranks, breaking into coaching at Wabash Valley Community College in 1993-94, helping lead the Warriors to a 29-3 record, before heading to Vincennes (Ind.) College for five seasons, where he coached Clarksville native and future NBA All-Star Shawn Marion for two seasons, as well as future NBA player Tyrone Nesby. The Trailblazers went 132-39 during Figger's time on NJCAA Hall of Famer Dan Sparks' staff, advancing to three NJCAA National Tournaments and capturing four straight Region XII titles (1995-98); the 1998 Vincennes squad went 31-5 and finished fifth at the national tournament.
He capped his junior college coaching career with a three-year stop at Odessa College, helping the Wranglers to a 27-7 mark and NJCAA National appearance in 2001.
In all, Figger advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament four times. He coached five NJCAA All-Americans—Marion, Mitchell Dunn, DeShay Jones, Tarone Barker and Janavor Weatherspoon—and had 35 players sign Division I scholarships.
What they're saying about Coach Figger
South Carolina Head Coach Frank Martin
"Austin Peay just hired a tireless worker who is an unbelievable coach and a more dynamic person. He is a winner, and he will make every young man and the program into ultimate winners."
Illinois Head Coach Brad Underwood
"Matt is one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the game. He has paid his dues and was a big part of the rebuilding efforts at Kansas State and South Carolina. He is a great basketball mind and terrific recruiter and will help bring Austin Peay to the top of the OVC."
Milwaukee Bucks Forward Michael Beasley
"Coach Fig is a first-class man and terrific teacher. He helped me develop my mid-range game and made sure we knew the importance of being in excellent condition. I couldn't be happier for him and know he'll do great things for Austin Peay."
Texas Tech Head Coach Chris Beard
"Simply stated, Matt is a winner. He's won at every level and has earned this opportunity. He will bring energy, excitement and work ethic and recruiting knowledge that will be very beneficial to the APSU program. Players gravitate to Matt because he is genuine and invested in their lives on and off the court."
Doug Gottlieb, Fox Sports
"Matt Figger comes from a tremendous basketball coaching tree. In addition, he has the type of positive energy that is contagious to fans and players alike. I cannot wait to see his Govs get after it."
The Figger File
Family: Wife, Katrina, and son, Vince
Education: Eastern Kentucky, 1995 (B.S.)
Experience
- 1993-94: Wabash Valley (Ill.) Junior College, assistant coach
- 1994-99: Vincennes, assistant coach
- 2000-02: Odessa (Texas) Junior College, assistant coach
- 2003-07: South Alabama, assistant coach
- April-June 2007: Arkansas, director of operations
- 2007-12: Kansas State, assistant coach/recruiting coordinator
- 20013-17: South Carolina, associate head coach/recruiting coordinator
- 2017-Pres.: Austin Peay, head coach
Accomplishments
- 14 National appearances
- 4 NJCAA
- 6 NCAA – 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017
- Sweet 16 – 2010, 2017
- Elite Eight – 2010, 2017
- Final Four – 2017
- 3 NIT – 2007, 2009, 2016
- 1 CIT -- 2018
- 2017-18 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
- 2006 Sun Belt Tournament Champion at South Alabama
- 2007 Sun Belt Regular-Season Champion at South Alabama
- No. 23 recruiting class in 2013 (ESPN.com)
- South Carolina team GPA of 3.0 or better in seven of last eight semesters
- Five All-Americans
- 26 All-Conference performers
- Three Conference Players of the Year
- Coached 2008 Consensus National Player of the Year Michael Beasley (Kansas State)
- Helped six players (Beasley, PJ Dozier, Shawn Marion, Rodney McGruder, Sindarius Thornwell and Henry Walker) along the path to NBA careers.Â
