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David Arseneault

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This article is about the former basketball coach. For his son and current coach, see David Arseneault Jr.

David Arseneault
Personal information
Born (1953-08-11) August 11, 1953 (age 71)
Career information
College
PositionGuard
Coaching career1982–2018
Career history
As coach:
1982–1986Guelph
1986–1987McMaster
1987–1989Hawthone
1989–2018Grinnell

David Michael Arseneault (born August 12, 1953)[1] is a former college basketball head coach. He invented the Grinnell System, a run-and-gun style that he employed with the Grinnell Pioneers.[2][3] He was also an associate professor of physical education on Grinnell's faculty.[4] Arseneault's son, David Jr., who played under his father at Grinnell, later served on his staff and eventually succeeded him as Pioneers head coach.

Early years

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Arseneault played college basketball at Colby College,[5] where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Administrative Science in 1976.[4] As a senior in 1975–76 at guard, Arseneault played 22 games and averaged 5.3 points.[6] He then went to Canada and received a Master of Education from Brock University in 1985.[4][7]

Coaching career

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After playing at UPEI in the 1976–77 season and Lakehead University in the 1977–78 season,[8] Arseneault coached college basketball in Canada in Ontario Universities Athletics Association, later known as Ontario University Athletics (OAU), for the Guelph Gryphons and McMaster Marauders.[7] He moved to the United States and coached women's basketball in New Hampshire for two years at the now-defunct Hawthorne College, where he was also their athletic director, before coaching the men's team in rural Iowa for the Grinnell Pioneers beginning in 1989.[7][9][10] He inherited a Grinnell program, which competed in Division III, that had not had a winning season in 25 years. After a couple years of trying out traditional eight-player rotations, he felt Grinnell needed to change its basketball philosophy to rejuvenate the team and have more fun. Arseneault developed the Grinnell System. Over 26 years, Grinnell won four conference championships, advanced to the postseason 11 times, and led the nation in scoring at all levels of college basketball in 17 of the past 19 seasons.[11] Areseneault retired in June 2018. He was succeeded by his son, David Jr., who had been serving as the Pioneers' interim head coach.[12][13]

After Grinnell's Jack Taylor twice scored 100 points in a game, including an NCAA-record 138, Arseneault and his program have been criticized for focusing on records and running up the score on overmatched opponents.[14][15][16] Deadspin wrote that Arseneault "has focused less on putting together a successful team and more on getting his players' names in the record books."[17] However, former Grinnell player Ross Preston, author of the book The Road to 138, counters that Arseneault transformed a program that was a combined 52–222 with no championships under its four previous coaches, and the choice to use his system was to improve the program, with the scoring records being only a byproduct.[14]

Under Arseneault, Grinnell has designated select games to pursue a record.[18][19] Three times an Arseneault-coached player has set the Division III single-game scoring record,[17] each time against an opponent from a lower division.[15] His son and then-Grinnell associate head coach David Jr. said the team allowed one player to score so much since Grinnell was trying to win their conference and lead the nation in scoring, and their "best hope of winning a conference title is our best player playing at a high level."[15] Earlier as a player with Grinnell, David Jr. once set the national record for assists in a game (34) when the team was instructed to shoot only if they received the pass from him.[18] Critics have hinted that Arseneault designed the Grinnell System as a scheme to get national attention and sell books. Preston countered that the system started as a means to turn around a losing program; he added that Arseneault was a member of the Grinnell faculty and expected to share his insights with peers in his field.[14] Critics including Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com charged that Arseneualt influenced his book sales by having his players' scoring records coincide with the books' release.[14][20] In August 2013, Arseneault released his second book, titled System Successes;[21] during the 2013–14 season, Taylor scored 109 points and Grinnell guard Patrick Maher set an NCAA record with 37 assists, breaking David Jr.'s previous record.[20] Taylor' big game came against Crossroads College, which played in National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), a level below National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which was lower than Grinnell's Division III;[15] Maher's record was against College of Faith, a 100-person Christian school with a new sports program and an 0–10 record.[22]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Grinnell Pioneers (Midwest Conference) (1989–present)
1989–90 Grinnell 3–19 2–12 6th (South)[23]
1990–91 Grinnell 7–15 3–11 6th (South)[24]
1991–92 Grinnell 11–11 5–8 T–4th (South)[25]
1992–93 Grinnell 10–12 5–9 T–4th (South)[26]
1993–94 Grinnell 13–8 8–6 3rd (South)[27]
1994–95 Grinnell 14–7 9–5 3rd (South)[28]
1995–96 Grinnell 17–8 11–3 1st (South)[29] NCAA D-III First Round
1996–97 Grinnell 11–12 8–6 2nd (South)[30]
1997–98 Grinnell 10–12 5–8 4th (South)[31]
1998–99 Grinnell 11–11 7–9 7th[32]
1999–2000 Grinnell 6–15 4–12
2000–01 Grinnell 16–8[33] 12–4 1st[34] NCAA D-III First Round
2001–02 Grinnell 12–12 9–7 T–3rd[35]
2002–03 Grinnell 19–6[33] 13–3 1st[36]
2003–04 Grinnell 18–6[33] 11–5 3rd[37]
2004–05 Grinnell 8–16[33] 5–11 T–7th[38]
2005–06 Grinnell 14–9[33] 10–8 3rd[39]
2006–07 Grinnell 17–7[33] 13–3 3rd[40]
2007–08 Grinnell 16–8[33] 11–5 2nd[41]
2008–09 Grinnell 18–7[33] 13–3 T–1st[42]
2009–10 Grinnell 8–15 6–10 T–7th[43]
2010–11 Grinnell 18–7 12–6 T–2nd[44]
2011–12 Grinnell 18–5 14–4 2nd[45]
2012–13 Grinnell 17–6 14–4 2nd[46]
2013–14 Grinnell 19–6 13–5 2nd[47]
2014–15 Grinnell 15–10 12–6 T–3rd[48]
2015–16 Grinnell 9–14 6–12 T–8th[49]
2016–17 Grinnell[50] 7–2 4–0
Total: 361–273

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Publications

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  • Arseneault, David M. (1997). The Running Game. Reedswain. ISBN 978-1-890946-00-5.

References

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  1. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  2. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (November 21, 2012). "138 Points, 108 Shots and a Debate About a Record". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012.
  3. ^ Berkow, Ira (January 29, 2004). "40 Minutes Of Running And Gunning". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 23, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "David Arseneault". grinnell.edu. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  5. ^ "Black Bears meet Bobcats tonight; Colby 5 at Tufts". Bangor Daily News. January 22, 1975. p. 21. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  6. ^ 1976 Colby College ncaa.org
  7. ^ a b c Sager, Neate (November 21, 2012). "Former CIS coach the mastermind behind 138-point monster performance". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014.
  8. ^ "U Sports Hoops - University Basketball in Canada". usportshoops.ca. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Temple, Jesse (February 12, 2013). "Grinnell has a 113.4-point plan for success". Fox Sports Wisconsin. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014.
  10. ^ "NCAA Record" (PDF). The NCAA News. September 25, 1989. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 29, 2014.
  11. ^ Hart, Jay (November 21, 2012). "The system behind Jack Taylor's historic 138-point game for Grinnell". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2012.
  12. ^ Schultz, Ted (October 24, 2017). "Arseneault Jr. new Pioneer coach". Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  13. ^ "DAVID ARSENEAULT JR". Grinnell College Athletics. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d Kallet, Brad (November 26, 2013). "Kallet: Is The Grinnell System Legit Or Unjust? An Expert Weighs In". newyork.cbslocal.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014.
  15. ^ a b c d Doyel, Gregg (November 19, 2013). "Not easy for Grinnell gunner to score 100-plus, till coach makes it so". cbssports.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014.
  16. ^ Harris, John (December 7, 2013). "Controversy surrounds Division III player's scoring records". triblive.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014.
  17. ^ a b Petchesky, Barry (November 18, 2013). "How Grinnell College Bastardizes Basketball To Set Records". Deadspin.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  18. ^ a b Reilly, Rick (November 21, 2013). "Not always Taylor-made". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2013.
  19. ^ Prisbell, Eric (December 24, 2013). "Once lost in pursuit of points, Grinnell's Jack Taylor finds contentment". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014.
  20. ^ a b Payne, Terrence (January 7, 2014). "Grinnell sets another NCAA record with Patrick Maher recording 37 assists in one game". collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014.
  21. ^ Schultz, Ted (August 22, 2013). "Grinnell coach Arseneault releases new book". pioneers.grinnell.edu. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014.
  22. ^ Doyel, Gregg (January 7, 2014). "Grinnell pulls another NCAA record out of its selective-scheduling hat". cbssports.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014.
  23. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  24. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  25. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  26. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  27. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  28. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  29. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  30. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  31. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  32. ^ Standings midwestconference.org
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h Season by season Overall Team records
  34. ^ "Untitled Document". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  35. ^ "2001-2002 MWC Men's Basketball Overall Statistics". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  36. ^ "Untitled Document". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  37. ^ "2003-2004 MWC Men's Basketball - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  38. ^ "2004-2005 MWC Men's Basketball - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  39. ^ "The Automated ScoreBook - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  40. ^ "The Automated ScoreBook - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  41. ^ "The Automated ScoreBook - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  42. ^ "The Automated ScoreBook - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  43. ^ "The Automated ScoreBook - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  44. ^ "MWC Men's Basketball 2010-11 - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  45. ^ "2011 Midwest Conference Men's Basketball - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  46. ^ "2012-13 MWC Men's Basketball - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  47. ^ "2013-14 MWC Men's Basketball - Standings/Schedules". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  48. ^ "2014-15 MWC Men's Basketball - Standings/Schedules". static.midwestconference.org. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  49. ^ "2015-16 MWC Men's Basketball - Standings/Schedules". static.midwestconference.org. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  50. ^ "Grinnell College Athletics". pioneers.grinnell.edu. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
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