E-mail this pageMeet the Men's Basketball Staff
Tom Curle, Head Coach
Tom Curle was named the head coach of the Plattsburgh State men's basketball program on July 30, 2003. In the six seasons since his hiring, the Cardinals have enjoyed unprecedented success in school history with 105 victories, three State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships from 2006-08 and NCAA Division III tournament appearances in those seasons, and 12 All-SUNYAC selections.
A winner at every level he has been a college head coach, Curle owns a 22-year career record of 368-236 for a .609 winning percentage. His official NCAA record is 199-144 (.580) spanning 13 years, including a 105-63 (.625) ledger at Plattsburgh that makes him the all-time winningest Cardinals coach by percentage.
2008-09 was a rebuilding year for the Cardinals, who were coming of their most successful year in school history. Plattsburgh went 8-16 during the season, 6-10 in the SUNYAC, but still recorded quite a few milestones. Chris Ruiz set a school record with 41 points at home against Brockport on January 5 and Curle earned his 100th victory as head coach at Plattsburgh that same night when the Cardinals defeated the Golden Eagles by a score of 99-92 in overtime. Ruiz later earned First Team All-SUNYAC honors at the end of the season for his stellar performance throughout the year.
Curle and the Cardinals accomplished big things during the 2007-08. The team posted a record of 27-3, sweeping the SUNYAC regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA tournament. Plattsburgh was the only school in the nation to go undefeated in region play, led Division III with a .900 win percentage and broke several school records including 27 victories and 16 conference wins. Two-time SUNYAC Player of the Year Anthony Williams is also the only Cardinal to be named an All-American in two different seasons. For the Cardinals' record-breaking season, Curle was named coach of the year by numerous organizations including SUNYAC, New York Association of Basketball Coaches, National Association of Basketball Coaches East Region and D3hoops.com East Region.
In 2006-07, the Cardinals won back-to-back SUNYAC titles for the first time in school history, won a school-record 21 games (21-9 overall) and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Curle was voted the conference coach of the year.
The 2005-06 campaign was a breakthrough season as Plattsburgh upset three higher-seeded teams to capture its first SUNYAC title since 1979 and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years. The Cardinals' 18-11 record was their best since the 1997-98 squad was 19-9, and they won the conference's NCAA automatic bid despite being the No. 6 seed with an 8-8 SUNYAC worksheet. Senior Kris Gibbs-Smith was a consensus all-region pick, all-SUNYAC first team choice and conference tournament most valuable player.
In his first season, the Cardinals had a 14-13 mark in 2003-04 and reached the SUNYAC semifinals for the first time in nine years.
The following year saw the team advance again to the SUNYAC semifinals, earn an invitation to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament and finish 17-11 overall.
Curle coached at former SUNYAC member SUNYIT in 2002-03, where he led the Wildcats to a 17-10 record in his only season and an ECAC Tournament berth during the team's best finish in five years. SUNYIT wound up tied for second place at 11-5 in the SUNYAC standings after being picked to finish 10th out of 11 teams in the preseason poll. The team's 11 conference wins were the most in school history.
Prior to SUNYIT, Curle spent five years at NCAA Division II Post University (1997-02), registering a 76-72 record. He established team records for victories in a season (21) and career coaching wins. He coached three All-Americans, including first team selection Ron Christy who once led the nation in scoring. Twenty-one of 23 seniors, or 95 percent, graduated during his tenure with the Eagles.
Curle posted a 170-91 overall record in nine years at Alfred State (1988-97), his first head coaching job. He recruited six junior college All-Americans and three scholar All-Americans while winning more games than any coach in any sport at the institution. The 1996-97 squad won a school-record 23 games. His teams won four Region III championships, three District VII crowns and qualified for the NJCAA national tournament three times. He was named NJCAA Region III Coach of the Year four times, District VII Coach of the Year three times, and was a candidate for NJCAA National Coach of the Year in 1993.
Prior to becoming a head coach, Curle spent three years as an assistant coach at Geneseo (1984-88), where he helped the Knights improve from 15 wins in his first season to a 21-win campaign by his last. He also was the freshmen coach at Mount Assumption Institute from 1982-84.
Curle began his collegiate playing career at Elmira College in 1978, playing there for two seasons. He transferred to Plattsburgh prior to the 1980-81 season, eventually becoming a team captain and starter for the Cardinals. He finished his career averaging 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Curle is a member of two institutions' sports halls of fame: 2003 inductee at Alfred State and 2002 inductee at Waterloo Central High School.
A 1982 Plattsburgh State alumnus, Curle and his wife Annmarie make their home in Plattsburgh with their children John (19), Dana (18) and Marle (14).
Cameron Conover, Associate Head Coach
Cameron Conover will enter his fifth year on Tom Curle's Plattsburgh State coaching staff during the 2008-09 season. As the top assistant, Conover is involved in all facets of the program with emphasis in recruiting, travel, practice preparation, on-floor coaching, video breakdown and instructing Cardinal guards. This year marks the second year as associate head coach with the team for Conover, who's also the co-director of the TC boys' basketball camp held each summer.
Conover helped Plattsburgh to three conference tournament championships from 2006 to 2008, as well as trips to the NCAA Tournament in those seasons. He has mentored Anthony Williams, the program's only two-year All-American, who ranked seventh in Division III scoring average (24.2 ppg) in 2008 while being named the SUNYAC and ECAC Upstate Player of the Year for the second-straight season. Conover also accompanied Williams to Wadsworth, Ohio, for the 2008 Collegiate Basketball Invitational where the Cardinals' all-time leading scorer was one of only two Division III players to make an appearance in the CBI All-Star Game on ESPNU.
Conover comes to Plattsburgh after working a season as an assistant coach at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, Calif. Prior to that, he was the freshman coach at Corona Del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif., his prep alma mater.
Conover began his collegiate playing career at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt., helping the junior college program to a No. 4 national ranking during his freshman year and a regional championship in NJCAA Division I the following season. He completed his career on an athletic scholarship at South Carolina-Aiken, an NCAA Division II program, and earned a bachelor's degree in communications.
He has completed a master's degree in administration and leadership at Plattsburgh.
Conover has worked many basketball camps throughout the country, including the Eastern Invitational, West Coast All-Stars and Villanova University. He holds membership in the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Basketball Coaches Association of New York.
Conover enjoys sports (especially playing golf) and traveling in his spare time.
Contact Information
For more information about Men's Basketball at Plattsburgh State, please contact:
Head Coach Tom Curle
E-Mail: curleto@plattsburgh.edu
Phone: (518) 564-4143
Associate Head Coach Cameron Conover
E-Mail: cameron.conover@plattsburgh.edu
Phone: (518) 564-4151