As a point guard at Sheboygan North High School and Beloit College, Tharp fed teammates for basket after basket.
On Friday night, the Lawrence University men's basketball team turned the tables on their coach and accounted for one big assist. The Vikings delivered career win No. 100 for Tharp with a 78-60 Midwest Conference victory over Knox College at Alexander Gymnasium.
"It's a credit to every kid who has ever put on a Lawrence University basketball uniform. There are a lot of kids who put in a lot of sweat and blood and hard work to get us to this point," Tharp said.
"I try to do the best I possibly can and surround myself with people and kids who are willing to make sacrifices. Everything takes care of itself after that."
Tharp, who improved his career record of 101-75 with a 73-63 win over Lake Forest College on Saturday, becomes just the third menšs basketball coach in Lawrence history to reach the 100-win plateau. Only Mike Gallus (1980-94, 148-181) and Art Denney (1924-42, š46, 147-147) have more wins. Tharpšs winning percentage of .571 ranks him first among Lawrence coaches with more than 20 victories, and he reached 100 wins faster than any coach in Lawrence history. When Tharp arrived on campus in 1994, he took over a basketball program that had struggled to win consistently for decades.
After only eight victories in his inaugural 1994-95 campaign, Tharp moved the Vikings into the role of conference championship contender, posting five consecutive winning seasons from 1995-96 to 1999-2000.
Tharp led the Vikings to their first Midwest Conference championship in 53 years when his team took the title in 1997. That championship also gave Lawrence its first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The 1996-97 season saw the Vikings post the most wins in school history with a 22-3 record.
The Vikings have played in the Midwest Conference Championship Game in three of the last five seasons and are now perennially one of the best teams in the league.
"When I first took over, I wasn't thinking about wins and losses," Tharp said. "I wanted to develop a program the kids could be passionate about, and we wanted to do things the right way. I wanted them to be proud of Lawrence University basketball."