Furman basketball coach Richey 'winning over money'

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Furman head coach Bob Richey’s stock is rising fast after the Paladins win at the NCAA Tournament.

A quick search for Bob Richey’s name on social media and you find a lot of fans from all across the country eager for their school to hire the 39-year-old head coach. It’s a natural progression for head coaches at the mid-major level to get that next offer after an NCAA appearance but the offers were coming for Richey before Furman upset Virginia. And that win hasn’t changed his expectations.

“I want to make this my next job. I said that year three. I said that year six. I say that today,” said Richey.

The South Carolina native admits he has ambition but says his goals don’t have a monetary price tag attached.

“I’m built a little different,’ said Richey. “I’m not operated by money.”

The son of a doctor, Richey said his late father and late father-in-law, who had been a successful businessman, would both tell him not to let money drive this decision and he says it hasn’t.

“We’ve turned down things,” said Richey. “I’ve turned down things this week. It’s because I enjoy winning more than money. But I also like vision and I like to see things grow. It’s like when you walk in my office [it says] ‘Build Something That Matters.”

Richey said he believes that’s what he’s doing at Furman.

“Furman gave me my opportunity,” said Richey. “At 34 years old said, ‘we want you to lead our program.’ And they’ve gotten into the vision of it. And I’ve got an unbelievable leadership team here. We have top-down alignment. You can see our President is front and center at both of those games, our board is all over Orlando. My AD has an incredible vision. Jason, I mean, the leadership that he’s given this place, this is a great place. And, you know, it’s something where I don’t think we’re done. I really don’t.”

A native of Florence, S.C., Richey, was promoted to head coach of the Paladins in 2017. He served six seasons as a member of the Paladin coaching staff before moving into the head coaching role.

Listing the reasons Furman is the place for him right now, Richey pointed to the rapid growth in Greenville and the upcoming facilities upgrades at Furman.

“Look how well positioned we are,” said Richey. “We’re gonna have a state of the art facility. We’re gonna have so many things that you can’t change or control that because of the fiber and what this institution stands for, it aligns with my values. And, you know, hey, it’s everything’s about what’s next and what’s ahead and we think we have more to continue to build here.”

Richey admitted the next opportunity might come one of these days but he said it won’t just be any opportunity.

“If there are things in my future that we pray through and we look at and we feel like, for the sake of our family, and it aligns, that it’s something we have to entertain, then we pray and work through that,” said Richey. “But I’m going to tell you this, it’s a very select group and it’s something I’m going to be very picky with just because of how motivated and how special this place is and what this place means to me.”

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