Tom Curle was named the head coach of the Plattsburgh State men's basketball program on July 30, 2003. In the 15 seasons since his hiring, the Cardinals have enjoyed unprecedented success in school history with 272 victories, five State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2018, NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament selections in those seasons as well as in 2012-13, 2013-2014, and 2015-16, and 34 All-SUNYAC selections.
A winner at every level he has been a college head coach, Curle owns a 30-year career record of 535-318. His official NCAA record is 366-226 spanning 21 years, including a 272-145 ledger at Plattsburgh State to make him the all-time winningest Cardinals' coach both in terms of wins and winning percentage (.652).
The 2017-18 season was a memorable one for the Cardinals under the helm of Curle going 24-5 overall, 17-1 in the conference, winning the SUNYAC title and going to the third round of the NCAA DIII tournament. Curle was tabbed SUNYAC coach of the year as well as NABC and D3hoops.com coach of the year. The Cardinals were ranked No. 18 in the final D3Hoops.com Top-25 poll of the 2017-18 season.
Leading the squad this past season was Jonathan Patron with 23.7 ppg and 10.4 rpg. Patron accumulated numerous awards including SUNYAC player of the week four times and named to D3hoops.com team of the week once. He was named the SUNYAC tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring a career high 41 points in the championship game and 35 points in the semifinal game. Patron picked up the NABC All-America First Team as well as NABC Player of the Year for the East Region and was named to First Team All-Region. He was also named the SUNYAC player of the year and was tabbed to the first team after leading the conference in both points per game (22.8) and rebounds per game (10.1). He was also named DIII News All-American Third Team.
Curle, the only head men's basketball coach of Korean descent in the NCAA, led the Cardinals to a 21-6 record in 2015-16, including a league-best 16-2 mark in the SUNYAC as the team captured its second straight regular season conference title and later appeared in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons. Plattsburgh State was nationally ranked in the D3Hoops.com top 25 for five straight weeks during the final stretch of play in 2015-16.
Leading Curle's squad in 2015-16 was senior Kyle Richardson, who put together one of the best seasons in program history. Richardson was bestowed with many accolades, including being named an NABC First-Team All-American and East District Player of the Year, D3Hoops.com Second Team All-American and East Region Player of the Year, DIII News Fourth Team All-American, and SUNYAC Player of the Year. Curle also saw final-year man Edward Correa become the program's all-time leader in 3-pointers and be just the 15th player to score 1,000 career points for Plattsburgh State.
The 2014-15 season saw Curle direct the Cardinals to a 19-8 mark and their first SUNYAC regular season title since 2010. Along the way, he surpassed longtime Plattsburgh State bench boss Joe Jastrab to become the program's all-time winningest coach.
Curle helped his team maintain its status as one of the premier NCAA Division III programs through the course of a grand 2013-14 season. With Curle guiding them, the Cardinals constructed a record of 24-6 which included a 15-3 mark in SUNYAC play. Plattsburgh State worked its way to its second straight runner-up finish in the SUNYAC Men's Basketball Tournament before receiving an at-large bid to the 2013-14 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
After securing hosting rights for the first two rounds of the national tournament, the Cardinals proceeded to knock off both MIT and Eastern Connecticut State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for just the third time in the storied history of the program.
Curle penned another successful chapter in his coaching legacy during a memorable 2012-13 campaign. Guiding his squad to one of the biggest turnaround seasons in program history, Plattsburgh State compiled a 14-4 mark in conference play, earning the second seed in the SUNYAC Championship Tournament. The Cardinals went on to score a runner-up finish in that tournament, and advanced to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season. While there, Plattsburgh State advanced to the second round before bowing out against eventual national champion Amherst. By the time that particular season was in the books, Plattsburgh State owned a mark of 20-9.
The Cardinals commanded the State University of New York Athletic Conference during the 2009-10 season, finishing first with a record of 13-5. The Cardinals went on a 10-game win-streak at the end of the season, a run that was snapped in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Curle earned his third SUNYAC Coach of the Year award after winning the conference's regular season and tournament titles, along with coaching four all-conference honorees.
Chris Ruiz continued his run as the go-to man for the Cardinals. Ruiz was finished the season as the leading scorer in the SUNYAC, became the 12th Cardinal cager to score 1,000 career points, was chosen to the All-SUNYAC First Team for the second straight year, named Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate Second Team, D3hoops.com All-East Region Second Team, National Association of Basketball Coaches All-East Region First Team and Division III News Bulletin Honorable Mention All-America. Errol Daniyan also had a standout season for Plattsburgh, joining Ruiz on the ECAC Division III Upstate Second Team and the D3hoops.com All-East Region Second Team.
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. 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 season. 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 and have children: John, Dana, and Marle.
The Curle Coaching Record
| Season |
School |
Record |
Pct. |
Conf./Place |
Note |
| 1988-97 |
Alfred State |
170-91 |
|
|
|
| 1997-98 |
Post |
19-11 |
.633 |
6-5 |
D-II job/CACC Semifinals |
| 1998-99 |
Post |
21-11 |
.656 |
n/a |
CACC Semifinals |
| 1999-00 |
Post |
11-21 |
.344 |
5-10/7th |
NECC Semifinals |
| 2000-01 |
Post |
15-12 |
.556 |
n/a |
|
| 2001-02 |
Post |
11-16 |
.407 |
n/a |
|
| 2002-03 |
SUNYIT |
17-10 |
.630 |
11-5/T-2nd |
SUNYAC Tournament |
| 2003-04 |
Plattsburgh State |
14-13 |
.519 |
7-9/T-6th |
SUNYAC Semifinals |
| 2004-05 |
Plattsburgh State |
17-11 |
.607 |
10-6/T-4th |
SUNYAC Semifinals |
| 2005-06 |
Plattsburgh State |
18-11 |
.621 |
8-8/6th |
NCAA Tournament |
| 2006-07 |
Plattsburgh State |
21-9 |
.700 |
11-5/2nd |
NCAA Tournament 2nd Rd. |
| 2007-08 |
Plattsburgh State |
27-3 |
.900 |
16-0/1st |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2008-09 |
Plattsburgh State |
8-16 |
.333 |
6-10/9th |
Ruiz: 1st team All-SUNYAC |
| 2009-10 |
Plattsburgh State |
21-8 |
.724 |
13-5/T-1st |
NCAA Tournament |
| 2010-11 |
Plattsburgh State |
17-10 |
.630 |
12-6/3rd |
SUNYAC Semifinals |
| 2011-12 |
Plattsburgh State |
8-18 |
.308 |
6-12/7th |
SUNYAC Quarterfinals |
| 2012-13 |
Plattsburgh State |
20-9 |
.690 |
14-4/2nd |
NCAA Tournament 2nd Rd. |
| 2013-14 |
Plattsburgh State |
24-6 |
.833 |
15-3/2nd |
NCAA Tournament 3rd Rd. |
| 2014-15 |
Plattsburgh State |
19-8 |
.704 |
13-5/1st |
SUNYAC Finals |
| 2015-16 |
Plattsburgh State |
21-6 |
.777 |
16-2/1st |
NCAA Tournament |
| 2016-17 |
Plattsburgh State |
13-12 |
.520 |
9-9/7th |
|
| 2017-18 |
Plattsburgh State |
24-5 |
.828 |
17-1/1st |
NCAA Tournament 3rd Rd. |
| 15 years |
Plattsburgh Totals |
272-145 |
.652 |
173-85 |
5x SUNYAC Champions |
| 21 years |
NCAA Career Totals |
366-226 |
.618 |
|
|
| 30 years |
Head Coach Career Totals |
556-316 |
|
|
|
