FIRST SEASON: 2011-12
 
Southland Conference Coach of the Year (2016-17)
Eddie Robinson Award by the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame (2017)
Tommy Joe Eagles Memorial Louisiana Major College Coach of the Year (2017, 2019)
Louisiana Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year (2017)
NABC District 23 co-Coach of the Year (2017)
Finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award (2022)

 PERSONAL FILE
- Birthdate: May 2, 1974
- Native of Bloomington, Ind.
- Family includes: Toni Purvis (wife) and children Nola and Holden
- 1996 graduate of Aurora (Bachelor of Science degree in physical education)
 
AT NEW ORLEANS
- Named the 12^th head coach in Privateers history on June 28, 2011
- 161-199 (.447) career record in 13 seasons
-  88-89 (.497) record in Southland play
- Four National Postseason appearances (2017 NCAA | 2018 CBI | 2019 CIT | 2022 TBC (formerly CIT)
- 2-4 (.33) in all postseason games (0-1 in NCAA Tournament, 0-1 in CIT, 1-1 in CBI, 0-1 in TBC)
- 11-8 (.61) in Southland Tournament games
- Southland Regular Season Champion (2017)
- Southland Tournament Champion (2017)
- Two appearances in the Southland Tournament Championship game (2017 & 2019)
- Coached UNO through reclassification back to Division I
- Coached UNO to victory over Power 5 foe (Washington State in 2016-17)
- Back-to-back postseason appearances for first time since 1996-97
- First postseason win at Lakefront Arena since March 16, 1994 (Texas A&M); 2018 CIT win
- Most wins in program history (161)
- Leader in games coached (360)
 
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT – NEW ORLEANS
- One NCAA Statistical leader (three-point percentage)
- 14 Southland All-Conference honorees
- Two Pete Maravich Awards (Louisiana Major College Player of the Year)
- Four All-Louisiana Sports Writers Association honorees
- One Associated Press All-American
- Three NABC All-District Selection
- One Southland Conference Player of the Year
- One Southland Conference Freshman of the Year
- Over 23 student-athletes have gone to play professionally, including Travin Thibodeaux (currently in the G League with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Graduated 97 percent of seniors since taking over the program
 
MEMORABLE DATES
- Nov. 15, 2011: First New Orleans victory (78-58 vs. Selma)
- Jan. 9, 2014: First Southland Conference win (87-81 vs. Abilene Christian)
- June 30, 2014: Six-year extension announced by former athletic director Derek Morel
- March 11, 2015: First Southland Conference Tournament win (82-73 vs. Nicholls)
- Dec. 12, 2015: 50^th UNO victory (83-66 vs. Williams Baptist)
- Dec. 3, 2016: First win over a Power 5 opponent (70-54 at Washington State)
- March 11, 2017: Southland Conference Tournament Championship (68-65 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)
- March 14, 2017: NCAA First Four (L 67-66 vs. Mount St. Mary’s)
- August 28, 2017: Seven-year extension announced by Morel
- March 14, 2018: Hosted first postseason game at Lakefront Arena since March 16, 1994 (W, 77-74 over UTRGV in CBI opening round)
- November 14, 2018: Coached his 212^th game at UNO (at UAB), the most on the Lakefront
- January 9, 2019: Won his 100^th game, becoming the third coach in program history to reach the century mark (at Lamar)
- March 20, 2019: Hosted the second consecutive postseason opening round contest (CIT vs Texas Southern)
- June 27, 2019: Received a two-year extension to remain on the Lakefront until 2025-26.
- February 19, 2022: Won his 147^th game as head coach on the Lakefront to become the program's winningest coach in school history
 
SEASON CAPSULES – NEW ORLEANS

2022-23 (Year No. 12): Took the Privateers' on their second foreign tour in school history to Coast Rica...Selected to finish third in Southland Preseason Rankings...Simeon Kirkland and Tyson Jackson earned Second Team All-Conference preseason honors...Jordan Johnson had a career high 39 points and eight 3-pointers in conference opener at HCU.. Johnson's 39 points are the most points scored by a Privateer since Jamie McNeily's 40 points against Denver in 2007 and the most scored by a Privateer on the road since Ledell Eackles scored 45 at FIU in 1988.... Johnson played in and started 27 games all while averaging 33 minutes..Johnson shot 46% from the field, 48% form the arc to lead the NCAA, and averaged 18 points per game.... Johnson scored over 20 points nine times...Privateers won six out of last eight games and advance to the semifinals in the Southland Conference Championships.

2021-22 (Year No. 11): Brought in eight newcomers...selected to finish second in the Southland Preseason Rankings...Led Privateers to nine straight wins – their best winning streak since 1996, and started 6-0 in conference play for the first time since 1993...Won his 147^th game as head coach on the Lakefront to become the program's winningest coach in school history...Made fourth national postseason appearance in the last six seasons at The Basketball Classic.... Coached senior captain Troy Green, who was named pre-season First Team All-Conference, 2x Southland Player of the Week, 2x LSWA Player of the Week, and First Team All-Conference...Green played the most games in school history, ranked second in free throws made, second in career steals, third in points and fifth in career assists... Green averaged 16.1 points per game with six games of 20 points or more, including a season-high 29 against A&M-Corpus Christi in February....Green was one of just four Privateers with 1,600+ career points, one of three Privateers with 1,700 career points, and one of just two with 500+ free throws made in his career....Derek St. Hilaire was named 2x Southland Player of the Week, 2x LSWA Player of the Week, LSWA Basketball Player of the Month for November, Allstate Sugar Bowl Amateur Athlete of the Month for January, and  First Team All-Southland....averaged 20.8 points per game - second in the Southland and 13th in the NCAA this season. The graduate student scored a career-high 34 points at HCU and scored 20+ points 18 times, with eight games of 25 or more...finished Southland Top-10 in points per game (2^nd), minutes played per game (3^rd), free throw percentage (5^th), steals per game (5^th), field goal percentage (7^th), three-point field goals per game (8^th) and assists per game (10^th)....Hosted first holiday tournament, the UNO Classic presented by Embassy Suites ,in decades over the Thanksgiving holiday at the UNO Lakefront Arena

2020-21 (Year No. 10): Entered the Southland Preseason ranked eighth, but finished fifth winning six of their final eight contests… coached Damien Rosser, who was selected Second Team All-Southland Conference and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 22 Second Team.. Rosser shot 52.0 percent from the floor and averaged 15.7 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals. His averages were good for second (rebounding), second in minutes (34.3), fourth (field goal percentage) and sixth (scoring) in the league.  He posted seven 20-plus point games and registered five double-doubles...Troy Green was named a 2021 Southland Conference Second Teamer and NABC All-District...His 377 made free throws rank third, 133 steals are tied for fifth, 120 career games are tied for sixth, 313 assists rank eighth (tied) and his 1,327 points were good for ninth.… Derek St. Hilaire posted 15.7 points and connected on 43.4 percent of his shots from long distance in league play, good for second in the Southland.....He scored 20+ points four times, including a career-high 33 and a highlight-reel dunk in a win versus McNeese (January 16)... St. Hilaire earned Southland Conference Player of the Week and he also won Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Player of the Week.

2019-20 (Year No. 9): Entered as the Southland Preseason favorites… coached Bryson Robinson, the programs single season three-point leader (87)… Robinson was named First Team All-Louisiana Sports Writers Association and Third Team All-Southland… B-Rob became the 23^rd Privateer to eclipse 1,000 points and concluded his career No. 2 in three-pointers and No. 4 in free throw shooting… team shot 74.4 percent from the line, second best mark as a program… Privateers debuted Mardi Gras threads and silver uniforms… Troy Green set a career-high with 14.6 points per game… dealt with injuries all season and featured 14 different starting lineups.
 
2018-19 (Year No. 8): Led the Privateers to a third consecutive postseason appearance (CIT)… coached the conference freshman of the year (Gerrale Gates) and all-conference selection Charles… advanced to the championship game of the Southland Tournament as a No. 4 seed, defeating No. 5 Lamar (at the time, rode an eight-game win streak) & No. 1 Sam Houston State… became the leader in games coached on November 14 (212)… won his 100^th game at Lamar, becoming the third Privateer head coach to reach the century mark… Robinson tied the school record in three-pointers in a game (nine at Central Arkansas)… LABC Major College Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons… most wins by a Southland school through a three-year span.
 
2017-18 (Year No. 7): Privateers make back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since the 1995-96 & 1996-97 seasons with College Basketball Invitational bid … back-to-back 4-0 starts to Southland play … Bryson Robinson earned Southland Conference and College Sports Madness Player of the Week (January 8) following a 31-point performance at McNeese and a week in which he averaged 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists … team advanced to the second round of the Southland Conference Tournament and the second round of the CBI … ended the season with 208 games coached at UNO, three away from tying Ron Greene for most in Privateer history … his 93 wins are third most in program history … team finished No. 24 in the country in turnovers forced (15.36) and No. 47 in free throw attempts (755) … team finished second in the league in three-point shooting (35.8 percent) … individually, Travin Thibodeaux led the league in shooting (54.2 percent).
 
2016-17 (Year No. 6): Brought a championship to the Lakefront for the first time in 20 seasons … led club to Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships en route to NCAA March Madness, the first time the Privateers participated in the postseason tournament in 21 seasons … picked to finish ninth in the preseason by the coaches and 10^th by sports information directors … Southland Conference Coach of the Year … received the Eddie Robinson Award by the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame … Tommy Joe Eagles Memorial Award, given to the Louisiana Major College Coach of the Year … Louisiana Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year … NABC District 23 co-Coach of the Year … Erik Thomas received Southland Player of the Year, Pete Maravich Award (Louisiana Major College Player of the Year, Associated Press All-America honorable mention and NABC District 23 first team … Thibodeaux received all-defensive team and all-academic team honors and Christavious Gill was named Southland honorable mention … Thomas named Southland Player of the Week Dec. 5 after averaging 17.5 points and 8.5 boards … Thibodeaux posted the third triple-double in program history Nov. 25 and first since Dec. 5, 2009 (Carl Blair) with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists … the 11 dimes were the most in a game since Rarlensee Nelson’s 11 Feb. 18, 2013 … Gill became 22^nd member of the 1,000-point club in season-opening win over LaGrange.
 
2015-16 (Year No. 5): Picked up win No. 50 in UNO Dec. 12 (Williams Baptist) … Gill named third team all-conference and Kevin Hill appeared on the Southland Conference’s all-academic team … back-to-back Southland Conference postseason appearances … Hill named Southland Player of the Week Feb. 1 after averaging 19.5 points and 10.0 rebounds.
 
2014-15 (Year No. 4): Qualified for the Southland Conference Tournament for the first time since joining the league (ineligible in 2013-14) … Hill named to conference’s all-academic team … team earns first postseason win under Slessinger (March 11, 2015 vs. Nicholls) in opening round of Southland Tournament.
 
2013-14 (Year No. 3): Won eight games in first season as member of the Southland Conference … picked up first conference win at home vs. Abilene Christian (Jan. 9) … Cory Dixon earns third team all-conference honors … Hill receives conference player of the week (Feb. 24) after scoring 18 points and pulling down 13 rebounds vs. Southeastern Louisiana.
 
2012-13 (Year No. 2): Nelson received Independent Player of the Week by College Sports Madness (March 4) after averaging 16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals … Nelson ended his career averaging 6.6 assists, third most in program history … it was second weekly award and fifth for UNO as Nelson won twice (also on Feb. 11), Lovell Cook (Jan. 14 and 28) and Corey Blake (Dec. 17).
 
2011-12 (Year No. 1): Program was going to reclassify to Division II before remaining at Division I … Cook was named to LSWA third team as the lone UNO student-athlete to start all 32 games … forward averaged 14.0 points and 5.1 rebounds … Cook received LSWA Player of the Week (Dec. 19) after scoring 18.7 points/game to go with 6.3 rebounds while shooting 72.7 percent … Antonio Wertz was named to the Hoops for Hope All-Tournament following his 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds/game during the tourney.
 
PRIOR TO NEW ORLEANS
Slessinger graduated from Aurora University with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1996. He then coached at his alma mater as an assistant basketball coach during the 1995-96 season before moving on to Central Michigan, where he served as an assistant during the 1996-97 campaign.
 
From there, Slessinger spent three years at Northland Pioneer College (Ariz.), the last two as head coach. His teams posted a 36-25 record with eight players signing on at the Division I level before he departed to take the top assistant and recruiting coordinator position at Northwestern State. In 11 years at NSU, Slessinger helped the Demons win three Southland Conference titles, earned two trips to the NCAA Tournament and posted signature victories over Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Oregon State and Iowa.
 
A native of Bloomington, Indiana, resides in New Orleans with his wife, the former Toni Purvis of Williamston, N.C. The couple has three children, Nola, Holden and Beaux.
 
 
YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD (Head Coach)