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Head Coach Philip Ponder
Philip Ponder begins his seventh season as head coach and 13th season overall at Oglethorpe. When he was named head coach in March of 2003, he became one of youngest head coach’s in the school’s basketball history. His first six seasons have seen the Stormy Petrels progress to becoming one of the top teams in the conference.
Having taken over a team that had finished last or next to last for four consecutive seasons, he immediately turned the Petrels fortunes around, leading the team all the way to the conference championship game in his first year at the helm. In his second season, the Petrels won their most games in six years and achieved their highest regular season conference finish in seven years. In his fourth year, the Petrels finished with their most wins and best record in eight years, and in his 5th season, the squad finished with their most wins in 10 years and their best conference finish in 13 years. The team followed that up with a second consecutive 16-win season in 2008-09. In his six years as head coach, Oglethorpe is one of only four teams in the conference that have qualified for the SCAC tournament each year. After only six years at the helm, Ponder already ranks third in career victories for a head men’s basketball coach at Oglethorpe.
He has introduced an exciting up-tempo style of basketball that has helped the Stormy Petrels lead the conference in scoring, three-pointers made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, turnover margin, assist to turnover ratio, steals, and turnovers forced, while breaking numerous school and conference records. The style of play is a style that players love to play. In the six year period that Ponder has been head coach, Oglethorpe has scored more points, made more three pointers, forced more turnovers, and recorded more steals than any team in the conference. This new, unique, and exciting style, as well as the renewed winning (53-23 at home in his tenure) has helped attendance almost triple since he took over.
Ponder has made it a point to try to make an impact on his players off the court as well. From his very first season, the team has been involved in giving back to the community. In the fall of 2003, the Stormy Petrels worked with the Chastain Horse Park riding program, which serves kids with cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities. For the past four summers and the past three falls, the men’s basketball program has partnered with the Brookhaven Boy’s and Girl’s Club, giving free scholarships for the annual summer camp and volunteering hundreds of hours with the after school program. For their efforts, the men’s basketball team was awarded in October of 2006 the “Volunteer of the Year” award for the entire Metro Atlanta area, which covers over twenty-five counties.
Professionally, Ponder is one of the co-founders of the Georgia Basketball Coaches Association (GABCA) and currently serves as President of the organization. He is also a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Ponder served as an assistant coach for eight years under five different head coaches at three different programs. Prior to coming to Oglethorpe, he was the assistant coach at Heritage High School in Conyers, GA. He was hired by former head coach and athletic director Jack Berkshire in the summer of 1997 as a graduate assistant. Upon Berkshire’s retirement, he was promoted to top assistant under new head coach Jim Owen, and held that position for five years. He played for and graduated from Reinhardt Junior College and LaGrange College. He received his master’s degree from Oglethorpe.
Assistant Coach Josh Burr
An Atlanta native,Burr graduated from Oglethorpe University in 2006 with a B.S. in Business Administration and graduated from Georgia State University in December of 2008 with a M.S. in Sports Administration. He begins his second season on the coaching staff. While playing for Coach Ponder, Burr compiled a list of shooting records including becoming the all-time SCAC leader for three-pointers made in a season (104) and in a career (288).In addition, Burr is the all-time leader in Oglethorpe history for three-pointers made in a game, season and career.
He was named to the SCAC All-Tournament Team in 2004 when the Petrels made a run to the finals before coming up short against Trinity University. Burr finished his career with 1,323 points. He is currently working as the Assistant Athletics Director at The Galloway School.
Assistant Coach Andrew Tulowitsky
Tulowitzky graduated from Oglethorpe University in May of 2007 with a B.S. in Business Administration. He begins his second season on the coaching staff. Born in Indiana, though living most of his life in Atlanta, it’s easy to see where he possesses the desire to coach basketball. Tulowitzky joins the Oglethorpe staff after having a successful 4-year career under head coach Phil Ponder while on campus. As a player for the Petrels, Tulowitzky was a 4-year starter and ranks in the top five in school history in several categories. He ranks 3rd all-time in free throw percentage at 85.8% and is 4th in both 3-pointers made and 3-point shooting percentage. On January 2nd, 2007, Tulowitzky set a single game school and SCAC conference record for field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage by going a perfect 11-11 from the field and 7-7 from the 3-point line. Also during his senior campaign with the Petrels, Tulowitzky was named a member of the SCAC All-Conference First Team. Andrew finished his career with 1,149 points.
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