UWGB will conduct coaching search differently this time
Scott Venci, Press-Gazette Media9:15 p.m. CDT March 30, 2015
(Photo: File)
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The search for the next University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball coach has started, but it won't be anything like the last time.
According to sources, the school will not be naming finalists for the job the way it did in 2010, when Brian Wardle, Greg Gard, Gary Grzesk, Jon Harris and Porter Moser were the final five in contention to replace Tod Kowalczyk.
Most coaches don't like that process, and there was a chance some might not even put their name in for consideration if was going to be conducted that way again.
That's not a problem now.
UWGB athletic director Mary Ellen Gillespie will be going to the Final Four this week in Indianapolis, where she will interview possible replacements for Wardle, who was hired by Bradley on Friday after five seasons with the Phoenix.
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A source said Gillespie has met with the team and asked them what they are looking for in a coach. She will add that to the characteristics of what she is looking for and build a list of coaches who fit the profile.
That same source said a decision on a new coach isn't expected to take a great deal of time.
Several current players and all three incoming recruits would like the school to hire UWGB associate head coach Brian Barone, who served as an assistant under Wardle for all five of his seasons.
Barone said Friday that he is interested in the opening. He will interview for the job, although it's not known when it will take place.
A source said Washington assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger, a Milwaukee native and an assistant coach at Iowa State from 2006 to 2013, is expected to interview while in Indianapolis.
Otzelberger did not return a message on Monday.
ESPN's Jeff Goodman also reported that both Michigan State assistant coach Dane Fife and Kansas State assistant Chris Lowery are in the mix, and it would be possible for both to interview at the Final Four.
Fife already will be there with the Spartans, who are getting ready for their Final Four game against Duke on Saturday.
Gillespie's interest in Lowery is said to be quite strong, although she is not commenting during the hiring process.
Lowery was the head coach at Southern Illinois from 2004 to 2012, where he led his team to a 145-115 record in eight seasons.
SIU went to the NCAA tournament his first three seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007, but it missed the postseason each of his last four years when it went a combined 49-75.
Another name that might be of interest to UWGB is Florida Southern coach Linc Darner, who led his team to the NCAA Division II national championship on Sunday.
Darner is a former guard at Purdue, where Gillespie worked in the mid-2000s.
Adam Miller, who is UWGB's assistant athletic director for development, also came to Green Bay from Florida Southern.
Darner did not return a message left for him on Monday.
Scott Venci, Press-Gazette Media9:15 p.m. CDT March 30, 2015
(Photo: File)
5CONNECTLINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE
The search for the next University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball coach has started, but it won't be anything like the last time.
According to sources, the school will not be naming finalists for the job the way it did in 2010, when Brian Wardle, Greg Gard, Gary Grzesk, Jon Harris and Porter Moser were the final five in contention to replace Tod Kowalczyk.
Most coaches don't like that process, and there was a chance some might not even put their name in for consideration if was going to be conducted that way again.
That's not a problem now.
UWGB athletic director Mary Ellen Gillespie will be going to the Final Four this week in Indianapolis, where she will interview possible replacements for Wardle, who was hired by Bradley on Friday after five seasons with the Phoenix.
PRESS GAZETTE MEDIA
UWGB recruits see Barone as 'good fit'
A source said Gillespie has met with the team and asked them what they are looking for in a coach. She will add that to the characteristics of what she is looking for and build a list of coaches who fit the profile.
That same source said a decision on a new coach isn't expected to take a great deal of time.
Several current players and all three incoming recruits would like the school to hire UWGB associate head coach Brian Barone, who served as an assistant under Wardle for all five of his seasons.
Barone said Friday that he is interested in the opening. He will interview for the job, although it's not known when it will take place.
A source said Washington assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger, a Milwaukee native and an assistant coach at Iowa State from 2006 to 2013, is expected to interview while in Indianapolis.
Otzelberger did not return a message on Monday.
ESPN's Jeff Goodman also reported that both Michigan State assistant coach Dane Fife and Kansas State assistant Chris Lowery are in the mix, and it would be possible for both to interview at the Final Four.
Fife already will be there with the Spartans, who are getting ready for their Final Four game against Duke on Saturday.
Gillespie's interest in Lowery is said to be quite strong, although she is not commenting during the hiring process.
Lowery was the head coach at Southern Illinois from 2004 to 2012, where he led his team to a 145-115 record in eight seasons.
SIU went to the NCAA tournament his first three seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007, but it missed the postseason each of his last four years when it went a combined 49-75.
Another name that might be of interest to UWGB is Florida Southern coach Linc Darner, who led his team to the NCAA Division II national championship on Sunday.
Darner is a former guard at Purdue, where Gillespie worked in the mid-2000s.
Adam Miller, who is UWGB's assistant athletic director for development, also came to Green Bay from Florida Southern.
Darner did not return a message left for him on Monday.
