John O[apos]Connor is in his sixth season as an assistant coach on Fran O[apos]Hanlon[apos]s staff. In 2012-13, O[apos]Connor returned to Lafayette for his second stint as an assistant after previously serving as O[apos]Hanlon[apos]s assistant for three seasons from 2001-04, two of which were as the top assistant.
O[apos]Connor was instrumental in helping return Lafayette to the Patriot League Championship Final in 2012-13, one win away from a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Leopards finished the season second in the Patriot League regular season and posted a 19-15 overall record.
He left Lafayette in 2004 for Georgia Tech where he became the director of basketball operations and later an assistant coach under Paul Hewitt, spending six seasons (2004-10) in Atlanta. O[apos]Connor left Georgia Tech in April of 2010 to become the head coach at Holy Family University. After his time at Holy Family, O[apos]Connor worked and travelled with USA Basketball[apos]s Under-19 team coached by Hewitt which competed in the world championships in Latvia in the summer of 2011. O[apos]Connor also spent time coaching youth basketball and training professional players during the NBA lockout.
O[apos]Connor spent eight years (1993-2001) as an assistant at Drexel where he helped guide the Dragons[apos] basketball program to three NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT berths. O[apos]Connor worked as the top assistant coach for three years, two under Steve Seymour and one under Bill Herrion.
In his time at Drexel, the men[apos]s program played in five America East Conference Tournament championship games in eight seasons. O[apos]Connor helped develop 22 All-League players in his tenure, seven of which were first-team selections. At Drexel, he implemented a computerized recruiting program and worked primarily with both frontcourt and perimeter players.
Prior to joining the Drexel coaching staff, O[apos]Connor served as an administrative assistant at Villanova University, working with Steve Lappas who was in his first season with the Wildcats[apos] program.
O[apos]Connor graduated from Penn State in 1983 with a bachelor[apos]s degree in Exercise Physiology. While attending the University Park campus, he also earned his teaching certification.
In recent years, O[apos]Connor has spent time coaching three different age groups in the Sonny Hill Basketball League. Additionally, he spent one season (1988-89) as the head freshman coach at Bishop McDevitt High School and also served as the assistant varsity and head junior varsity coach at Germantown Academy from 1987-89.
O[apos]Connor, a native of Philadelphia, is married to the former Fay McColl.
