Georgetown
College Head Coach Happy Osborne is in his 29th season on the
campus and thirteenth as head coach of the storied Tiger Program.
Last season, Osborne's Tigers went undefeated in Mid-South
Conference play and in the Mid-South Conference Tournament - for
their second year in a row. In addition, he was named the
MSC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career. In
addition, his squad lost only on game all year - in the NAIA
National Tournament semi-finals.
Osborne has accumulated a large pile of titles and awards
through his years, including 17 straight national tournament
appearances and more overall appearances and wins in the
tournament than any other team. His teams have won nine of the
last twelve Mid-South Conference titles and he has had at least
25 wins in the last 25 seasons, with the exception of the
1990-91 season. Add to that a 1998 National Championship, being
the fastest coach at any level to win 100 career games and
earning his 300-win as head coach in 2006 and it is easy to see
why he is able to recruit some of the best talent in the NAIA.
But
the thing he is more proud of than any accolade on the lengthy
list is to be the third head coach in the last 60 years at
Georgetown College behind Bob Davis and the late Jim Reid. “I
think it’s pretty neat that there has been such longevity here.
Most coaches start at a NAIA school and then leave to move up
the ranks. I think people stay here because of the atmosphere in
the community and the college,” said Osborne, who eats lunch
with Davis every Tuesday. “I feel so fortunate to have been
around an unbelievable group of young men during my time here
and I love seeing their successes when they leave and watching
them become husbands and fathers.”
Osborne, a native of Lynch, KY, and his wife, Bobbi, live in Georgetown. Bobbi is a teacher at Southern Elementary and is also an alumnae of Georgetown College. Their daughter, Madison, is a junior at Georgetown College and a member of the cheerleading team.
Chris
Briggs enters his second season with the Georgetown College Men's Basketball
program.
Briggs played basketball for one year at King College after graduating from Reidland High School. He then went on to the University of Kentucky where he served as a student manager for the University of Kentucky's infamous Bill Keightley for three years and then as a two-year graduate assistant coach for Tubby Smith. He spent one year as an assistant coach for the United States Basketball Academy in Eugene, Oregon before joining Coach Osborne's staff.
The 26 year-old continues to make an impact on Coach Osborne and the Georgetown College program. " I am extremely impressed with his work ethic - he has learned from great coaches in Tubby Smith, David Hobbs and Cameron Hill, and I count on him to be excellent in individual improvement, scouting and to do a great job recruiting."
The Paducah native is equally impressed with his boss. "Coach Osborne has
such a passion for the game and his players and a tremendous work ethic.
I am thrilled to have an opportunity to learn from one of the great coaches
in the game."
Chris' wife, Elizabeth, is also no stranger to collegiate athletics.
She currently serves as the K-Fund Relations Coordinator for UK. The
couple resides in Lexington and enjoys traveling and visiting family and
friends as their schedules allow.
"As much as I like Chris' skills as a coach, I like him better as a
person and I know he gives this program his heart. He knows what
it means to try to keep a program at the top," said Osborne.
Assistant Coach
K.C. Goodin likes to remind his players that he was a member of
the only Georgetown College Men's Basketball National
Championship team and admits how much he would like to have
another title ring, this time as part of the coaching staff.
Last Spring, when that same 1998 team was inducted into the Georgetown College Athletics Hall of Fame, Goodin found an old uniform in storage from the title season and said he pulled out a lot of memories when he stumbled across it. "It really was and still is a special, tight-knit group. I think it was a team that epitomizes team, there were no individuals."
Goodin jumped at the chance to return to the program after serving as head coach at Western High School in Louisville. “I was both surprised and ecstatic about the whole opportunity to come back here,” explains Goodin. “I was always hoping that someday the opportunity would arise.”
A 1995 graduate of Larue County High, Goodin began his college career at Carson Newman and started there for two years before deciding to return to his home state to be closer to his family. His basketball career took off as soon as he stepped on campus, as he helped lead the Tigers to the NAIA National Championship in his first year and then followed it up with a Sweet 16 appearance in 1999. He then went on to finish his degree in physical education at Kentucky State University and spent several seasons as an assistant coach and teacher at Louisville Western before moving up to head coach prior to taking the Georgetown position.
“When Coach (Osborne) was recruiting me in high school he told me to remember that I would always have a home at Georgetown College and it has turned out to be absolutely true,” Goodin said. “I remember that when I am recruiting young men to wear the orange and black.”
Goodin and his wife, Anne, have three sons, Aaron, age ten, four-year-old Kenyon and infant Kade. Anne, serves as a special education teacher at Anne Mason Elementary School in Georgetown.
“I just can’t thank Coach Osborne enough for the opportunity to be back at Georgetown. He has made a huge difference in my life both in the man I am and the coach I am.”