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Assistant coach opening draws interest DONNELLY OUT, WILL OLD FACE BE IN? (6/15/07)
A couple of weeks after taking an assistant coach’s job at Eastern Michigan, Dave Donnelly, who was on Jimmy Collins’ staff at UIC for nine years, took a few moments to speak with Whoosh! “Eastern Michigan offered me an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” Donnelly said via e-mail. “Having been at UIC for 9 years, I just thought it was time for me to take that next step professionally.” Donnelly, 37, joins Charles Ramsey’s staff at EMU. The Eagles were 13-19 overall and 6-10 in the MAC last season in Ramsey’s second season at the helm. The Eagles have struggled in recent years, but Donnelly believes that Ramsey can help bring the team close to the level that they competed at in the mid-to-late ‘90s with players such as Earl Boykins and Derrick Dial. “I know some people are saying, ‘Why Eastern Michigan?,’ ” Donnelly said. “Well, besides EMU and Coach Ramsey offering me an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, I see EMU basketball as a program that is on the rise and a program that has a chance to compete for MAC Championships on a consistent basis in the near future. “What most people don’t realize is that EMU has a strong basketball tradition. EMU use to be one of the top basketball programs in the MAC in having won 3 MAC Championships (1991, 1996, 1998) in the’90s.” Seven former EMU assistants are now Division I head coaches, including names well-known to Flames’ fans, such as Perry Watson (Detroit), Gary Waters (Cleveland State) and Todd Lickliter (formerly at Butler, now at Iowa). In addition, Ramsey, Stan Heath (South Florida), Keith Dambrot (Akron) and Jesse Evans (San Francisco) also made their way through EMU as assistants. Cal head coach Ben Braun was previously a head coach at EMU. Donnelly looks at positively at his experience at UIC and thinks good things are to come, despite some of the team’s struggles on-and-off the court last season. “I look at last season as a growing experience,” Donnelly said. “It was a season that I’ll always remember. I feel that I’ve grown professionally as well as personally. Coach [Mark] Coomes did a tremendous job keeping the program together and preparing and coaching the team. And, the players gave us everything they had on a daily basis.” Donnelly closed with this statement: “UIC will always be a special place to me. I think the 2007-08 season can be special and I wish UIC all the best.” With Donnelly now in Ypsilanti, Mich., the interview process for a new assistant has begun. Bryant Lowe, the Flames’ current director of basketball operations, helped assist the team last season with Collins and Lynn Mitchem on leave. It is fact that Lowe, who played at UIC for two years, wouldn’t mind a permanent bump up to the position.
Williams was UIC’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer and played for several years professionally, mostly overseas. He spent much of the last year as the head coach of the Chicago Rockstars, an expansion franchise in the American Basketball Association. Another candidate that could be considered for the position is former UIC guard and current Forreston High School coach Jonathan Schneiderman, who Collins also thought was a “coach on the floor.” There is also speculation that an experienced assistant with ties to Chicago may also be in the running for the job. SCHEDULE NEWS: Bradley announced on their athletic Web site that UIC will host Bradley this season at the Pavilion on Saturday, Nov. 10. It will be the Braves’ first-ever visit to the Pavilion. It is the beginning of a two-year, home-and-series with the Braves. UIC and Bradley met last season with the Braves winning 81-72 in Peoria in a preliminary game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge. After the Flames’ play Bradley, the will travel to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam Nov. 16-19. The slate has been announced for the tournament with UIC in the top half of the bracket and opening with Winthrop, which shocked Notre Dame in last season’s NCAA tournament. Then the Flames would play the winner or loser of the Charlotte-Georgia Tech game on either Nov. 17 or 18. The final game is on Nov. 19 and could be against Notre Dame, Monmouth, Baylor or Wichita State.
GOING CAMPING: Flames coach Jimmy Collins will host his annual basketball camp at the Flames Athletic Center June 18-21, but there will be a second basketball camp on the UIC campus this summer. Former Flames’ star Mark Miller will be hosting a two-day weekend camp on July 14-15 at the brand new Student Recreation Center on Halsted St. across from Student Center East (the former Chicago Circle Center). Miller was 1998 MCC Player of the Year and played several years professionally overseas. For more information, call Michelle Ruscitti at 312-543-5516 or visit www.markmillerbasketball.com. |
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