| Wins against Kentucky - 0 | Losses against Kentucky - 1 |
Alma Mater: School of Ozarks [1961]
Date Born: June 23, 1939
Date Died: February 1, 2012
Overall Record: 373-202 [19 Seasons]
| Date | Matchup | UK Result | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/15/1998 | Kentucky vs. St. Louis | W | 88 - 61 | NCAA South Regional Second Round (at Atlanta, GA) |
Obituary - Associated Press (February 3, 2012)
Charlie Spoonhour, a popular basketball coach with a homespun manner who put Missouri State on the map with five N.C.A.A. tournament appearances and led St. Louis to three more, died on Wednesday in Chapel Hill, N.C. He was 72.
His death was confirmed by Walker's Funeral Home in Chapel Hill. In 2010, he learned he had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which required a lung transplant.
In 19 seasons as a Division I head coach, the last three at U.N.L.V. from 2001 to 2004, Spoonhour compiled a record of 373-202 with a system of tenacious defense and outside sharp-shooting that was called Spoonball.
He built his reputation at Missouri State, then known as Southwest Missouri State, where he was 197-81 from 1983 to 1992.
St. Louis had won just five games the season before Spoonhour arrived, but in his second season the Billikens were 23-6 and ended a 27-year N.C.A.A. tournament drought. The 1994-95 team also won 23 games and went to the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament, setting a team record with 284 3-pointers.
In the mid-'90s, the Billikens consistently played to capacity crowds of 21,000, and students planted plastic spoons all over campus in tribute to Spoonhour. He was known for a plain-spoken wit and for using down-home expressions like "Hickory Nut Head" when criticizing a player.
After compiling a 122-90 record in seven seasons at St. Louis, Spoonhour retired briefly before returning to coaching at U.N.L.V. He was 54-31 in three seasons, resigning with 10 games to go in the 2003-4 season because of health problems.
Spoonhour was born on June 23, 1939, in Mulberry, Kan., and graduated from the University of the Ozarks with a degree in education.
His survivors include his wife, Vicki; two sons, Jay and Stephen; and five grandchildren.
