James Richard Harrick (born July 25, 1938) is a former American basketball coach. He has been the head coach at UCLA, Pepperdine University, the University of Rhode Island and the University of Georgia over a combined total of 23 seasons. During the 1994–1995 season, he led UCLA to a 31–1 record and the school's eleventh national championship, its first since the 1974–75 season. Biography Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Harrick graduated in 1960 from Morris Harvey College, now known as the University of Charleston. He is of Lebanese ancestry. On November 20, 2009 Sally Lee Harrick, his wife of 49 years, died aged 70 from complications of scleroderma. College coaching career Harrick's coaching career began at Morningside High School in Inglewood, California where he served as an assistant coach from 1964 to 1969 and as head coach from 1970 to 1973. He was then hired as an assistant coach at Utah State University from 1974 to 1977. Harrick then spent two seasons as an assistant coach at UCLA from 1978 to 1979. His first collegiate head coaching job was at Pepperdine University in 1979, where he led the school to four NCAA tournament appearances and was a conference coach of the year four times. UCLA In 1988, he returned to UCLA to assume head coaching duties after the firing of Walt Hazzard. During the recruiting period before his first season, he recruited Don MacLean, the most significant recruit to commit to Westwood in several years. McLean's arrival helped start a revival of the basketball program. By 1992, the Bruins were back in the Elite Eight, officially the first time they had advanced that far in 13 years. The 1979-80 team went all the way to the national championship game, but had that appearance vacated due to ineligible players. This was officially the second time they had advanced that far since John Wooden left the school. During the 1994–1995 season, he led UCLA to a 31–2 record (a loss to California was subsequently forfeited to the Bruins) and the school's eleventh national championship, its first since the 1974–75 season. The 31 wins would stand as a school record until the 2005–06 season. A year later, Harrick's Bruins were upset in the first round by Princeton. As it turned out, this would be the last game Harrick would coach in Westwood. Shortly before the start of the 1996–97 season, he was accused