Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Coaching Carousel: Eastern Kentucky Hires Dan McHale as New Coach; Barnes Finalizes Staff at Tennessee; Jeff Capel Withdraws From Arizona State Mix
Eastern Kentucky has hired Minnesota assistant coach Dan McHale as its new head coach, a source confirmed to SNY.tv.
A strong recruiter with ties to the East Coast’s fertile talent base, McHale will be introduced at a press conference Thursday or Friday.
McHale replaces Jeff Neubauer, who left to take the Fordham job.
A native of Chatham, N.J., McHale was a student manager for four years at Kentucky under Tubby Smith (1997-2001), graduating with honors with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. McHale spent four seasons at Louisville, two as a video coordinator and two as a staff assistant under Pitino.
After that McHale spent six years under coach Kevin Willard, three at Seton Hall following three at Iona. He has been at Minnesota under Richard Pitino since 2013.
The news was first reported by ESPN.com and Scout.com.
BARNES FINALIZES STAFF AT TENNESSEE
New Tennessee coach Rick Barnes finalized his staff at Tennessee, adding Rob Lanier, Chris Ogden and Desmond Oliver. Lanier and Ogden were on his staff at Texas.
CAPEL WITHDRAWS FROM MIX AT ARIZONA STATE
Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel has withdrawn from consideration at Arizona State, according to Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com. ASU fired Herb Sendek two weeks ago.
Photo: Minnesota
Follow Adam Zagoria on TwitterAnd Like Zags on Facebook
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.