Kent's Geno Ford Moves On.....

[joepa66]

KSU's Geno Ford accepts position at Bradley University
By David Carducci | Staff Writer

The meeting to tell Kent State’s stunned men’s basketball players their head coach had bolted for Bradley University was scheduled for 10:15 p.m. on Sunday.

Those players already knew.

The news broke on the Bradley University website soon after 9:30 p.m., and word spread like a wildfire through the roster of the two-time defending Mid-American Conference regular-season champions.

By the time they rolled into the M.A.C. Center parking lot just after 10 p.m., the players were already trying to move past the feeling that they were betrayed by now-former head coach Geno Ford, and had already started thinking of the future.

“All I know is I want to play for only one guy, and that’s Rob Senderoff and the staff we have here at Kent State,” said MAC player of the year Justin Greene. “It’s important to all of us that everything stays the same. This team has a chance to be too good to be broken up.”

While the star center took on the role of team spokesman, every player on the roster echoed the sentiment, “If this staff comes back, we are going to be very good,” said Rutgers transfer Pat Jackson, who will play his first season with the Flashes next season. “If coach Senderoff isn’t the head coach, who knows if some of this team breaks up.”

Senderoff has been an assistant at Kent State for three years under both Ford and previous head coach Jim Christian, including three as associate head coach.

Five of those seasons saw the Flashes win the regular-season MAC title, and in all seven they qualified for a postseason tournament.

Ford and Christian were, of course, promoted from within. The Flashes players hope first-year athletic director Joel Nielsen follows the same blueprint that has been successful at KSU for more than a decade.

“If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” said Greene, who will be back for his fourth season next season. “Why not keep it going? We’ve won the last two (regular-season championships) and probably 60-percent of that was Geno Ford, and 40-percent of that was coach Senderoff. Coach Senderoff has already been like a head coach on the court. He is the only one who can keep this all together.”

The announcement of Ford’s hire caught everyone at Kent State by surprise. There were rumors that a deal could be a few days away, but nobody expected to see Ford’s face plastered on the front page of the Bradley University website.

At 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Ford confirmed to the Record-Courier he was about to board a flight to Peoria, Ill, where the Bradley University campus is located. At the time, he said he did not have a contract offer. By 6:58, a private Cessna Citation jet left Akron Fulton Airport. It landed an hour later in Peoria. Within two hours, the news of Ford’s hire had been announced.

“I found out about it on Twitter,” said Greene.

A press conference has been called for noon today at the M.A.C. Center where Nielsen will discuss the future of the KSU program.

Bradley is expecting 500 attendees at its press conference today at noon in Peoria.

[joepa66]

Geno Ford Named Bradley Basketball Head Coach
Courtesy: BradleyBraves.com
Release: 03/27/2011


PEORIA, Ill. -- Geno Ford, the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year the last two seasons at Kent State University, will become the 13th head coach in Bradley Basketball history when he is formally introduced to the public during a noon press conference Monday in the Renaissance Coliseum arena.

"I am ecstatic to work at such a great institution with such a rich basketball history," said Ford. "The passionate Bradley fan base, academic excellence and exceptional facilities will give us an opportunity to compete at the highest levels of the Missouri Valley Conference.

"I would like to thank President (Joanne) Glasser and Dr. (Michael) Cross for affording me the opportunity to lead the Braves. I am excited about the support for our program and the resources we have to achieve at the highest levels. The investments made in our program will give us a chance to achieve our maximum potential."

In his third season at the helm of the Kent State program, Ford, 36, became the first men's basketball coach to lead his team to consecutive, outright MAC regular-season titles in 48 years. After winning the 2009-10 title with a 13-3 league record, Ford welcomed back only three returning players for the title defense, but successfully navigated the season with 10 newcomers to earn the repeat MAC championship in 2010-11 with a 12-4 conference mark. Denied a trip to the NCAA Tournament after losing in the MAC Tournament championship game, Kent State won NIT contests on both coasts - at Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Fairfield -- before dropping an 81-74 decision at No. 1 seed Colorado in the quarterfinals to finish the season with a 25-12 overall record.

Ford produced a 68-37 (.648) record in his three seasons at Kent State, including a 35-13 (.729) ledger in the Mid-American Conference. In addition to his two MAC Coach-of-the-Year Awards, Ford was the 2009 NABC District 14 Coach of the Year. Including previous head coaching stints at NAIA Shawnee State (22-10 in 2001-02) and NCAA Division III Muskingum (29-22 from 2005-07), Ford comes to Bradley with a six-year career record of 119-69 (.633).

"Geno Ford met every quality that I was seeking in the head coach of Bradley Basketball," said Director of Athletics Dr. Michael Cross. "He has tremendous values, high basketball IQ, is a gifted and charismatic communicator, appreciates the educational quality of Bradley and has demonstrated he is a proven winner time and time again.

"Coach Ford is a perfect fit for Bradley and I have every confidence that our program will thrive under his leadership. I look forward to working with Geno on a daily basis and welcoming his family to the Peoria community."

Ford earned his bachelor's degree in organizational communication from Ohio University in 1997 and his master's degree in athletic administration from Ohio in 1999. He was a high-scoring guard for the Bobcats from 1993-97, finishing his career as the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,752 points and earning second-team All-MAC honors in 1995-96 and first-team honors in 1996-97.

Ford immediately began his coaching career upon graduation, averaging 17.8 points per game for the British Basketball League Leicester Riders in 1997-98, while serving as head coach for the Riders' junior team.

He returned to his alma mater in 1998 as a graduate assistant coach under Ohio head coach Larry Hunter and was promoted to assistant coach on the Bobcats staff in 1999. In his first year as full-time Bobcats assistant, Ford was on the bench for Ohio's 63-52 win against Bradley in the third round of the 1999 Rainbow Classic.

Ford quickly earned his first head coaching position in 2001 when he took over the NAIA program at Shawnee State, and he was named the American Mideast Conference Coach of the Year in his lone season after guiding the Bears to a 22-10 record and 10-win improvement compared to the previous season.

He returned to the MAC the next season, however, with a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Kent State. From 2002-05 as an assistant for the Golden Flashes, Ford helped Kent State to a 62-31 (.667) record, a pair of MAC East Division titles and a trio of NIT appearances.

Ford began his second stint as a head coach in 2005 at Muskingum and immediately produced the program's best record in 15 years by guiding the Muskies to a 17-9 record in 2005-06. He followed with a 12-13 mark in 2006-07, before returning to Kent State as an assistant in 2007-08.

Leading the recruiting effort that landed 2008 MAC Player of the Year Al Fisher, Ford helped Kent State to a 28-7 record in 2007-08, which culminated in a sweep of the MAC regular-season and tournament titles and a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the best tourney seed in KSU history. In seven seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio and Kent State, Ford helped the two MAC schools to a combined 149-72 (.674) record, meaning his teams boast a 268-141 (.655) record in his overall, 13-year college coaching career.

Ford's teams also have excelled beyond the hardwood. In his first year as Kent State head coach, his players combined for the program's best semester grade point average during the 2008 Fall semester and five of his student-athletes have been honored at the Judith K. Devine Athletic Academic Honors Dinner each of the last two years.

One of the most prolific scorers in Ohio High School history, Ford was tabbed "Mr. Basketball" in 1993 by the Ohio Associated Press following his senior season at Cambridge High School in which he averaged 35.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Playing for his father, Gene, the 5-foot-8 guard poured in 2,680 career points, ranking him third all-time in the state, 34 points better than current NBA superstar LeBron James (2,646).

Geno Ford was inducted into the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2004. After 24 years as the head coach at Cambridge, the elder Ford took over at Muskingum - his alma mater - in 2007-08.

Ford and his wife, Traci, are the parents of two sons: Darin (15) and David (7).

Ford will take over a Bradley program that finished 12-20 overall in 2010-11 and tied for ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season standings with a 4-14 league record. The Braves are expected to return nine lettermen and five of the top seven scorers for the 2011-12 season.

MEDIA AND FAN ADVISORY:
Geno Ford will be introduced as Bradley University's 13th men's basketball head coach during a press conference at noon Monday on the court at Renaissance Coliseum. The press conference will be open to the public and will be streamed live online at BradleyBraves.com. The Main Street Parking Deck will be open to members of the media and all attendees are encouraged to enter the arena through the Nick & Nancy Owens Atrium. The event also will be streamed live at Bradley University: In the Spotlight.

[joepa66]

Here's the presser.....

Bradley University: In the Spotlight

[CBXU]

Dang, tough loss for Kent. Do you assume that the assistant will just take over then since it seems like that is what the players want?

[Nicky Santoro]

It's a real pisser. I figured if he move on it would be going up the ladder. Whatever, as long as dude is happy I guess.

[joepa66]

Nicky,

Heard from a very reliable Kent source close to the program that there were unbelievably 1.5 million reasons why Geno left. Knew the time would come but honestly didn't think it would be this year.....but looking back with 10 new players and to win the conference title and experience the success they had in the NIT, it was probably his best coaching job yet. Same feeling I had when Stan Heath left. And, I had only known Stan for 5 years when he was an assistant at Mich St. and met him recruiting a local player several times. Now Geno, a local boy, of whom I have known for 15-20 years but especially know his dad Gene. I wish him the best but this really hurts.

[joepa66]

Dang, tough loss for Kent. Do you assume that the assistant will just take over then since it seems like that is what the players want?

Lots of good Kent alums out there.....Eric Haut a former player and assistant to former KSU coach Jim Christian at TCU, and Rob Murphy a former player and assistant now at Syracuse. But the players like Senderoff and I think he's been coaching the players on and off the court more than the average person knows.....i think it was more like 50-50 or 45-55 and Justin Greene was just being kind.

[joepa66]

Kent presser with AD Joel Nielsen......

Kent State Begins Coaching Search After Ford Accepts Position At Bradley: Kent State University Athletics

[joepa66]

Ford replacement search begins immediately for Kent State
By David Carducci | Staff writer

The dawn of a new day in Northeast Ohio couldn’t quite ease the sting of Sunday night’s announcement in central Illinois that Kent State men’s basketball coach Geno Ford was leaving for Bradley University.

It wasn’t so much the fact that Ford was leaving that upset the Golden Flashes and their fans. They’ve watched coaches bolt for greener pastures before.

More unsettling was the way word made it back to Kent State that Ford was leaving for a $700,000-per-year payday that could elevate to over $900,000 in a season based on incentives should Bradley enjoy even an NIT run similar to the one the Flashes just completed.

Less than a week after they lost in the NIT quarterfinals, the Flashes’ players returned to campus from a short Spring Break only to be hit with the news that Ford had already left town.

MAC Player of the Year Justin Greene heard the news on Twitter.

“It’s not that he left,” Greene said almost an hour after the news broke. “I know this is a business. It’s how he left. You couldn’t tell us?”

By callously deciding to release the news without allowing Ford to get word to his former players or administrators, Bradley damaged Ford’s reputation with people who cared about him and were eager to wish him well in his new home.

Almost 16 hours later, KSU athletic director Joel Nielsen tried to take the high road by thanking Ford for his work in Kent during a press conference to announce how the Flashes plan to move forward with their basketball program.

He couldn’t quite hold back his disappointment in the way Sunday night unfolded, however.

“I would have hoped there would have been better communication, because there was very good communication ... in the last 36 hours,” said Nielsen, whose last contact with Ford was at almost 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

At that point, Ford did not have a formal job offer from Bradley.

“We left it at that point and much like our coaches and players, I was alerted to the Bradley website at around 9:30 at night,” said Nielsen.

“There’s no question it’s difficult on the student-athletes, but it’s also difficult on the institution, too, when the communication isn’t as great as you would have hoped,” Nielsen said. “A lot of people were finding out at 9:30 p.m. It’s going to be difficult on student-athletes no matter what, but when it is put into that context, I think it is tough obviously.”

A POUND OF FLESH

Bradley appears to be unwilling to meet the demands of the buyout in Ford’s contract, and that could force KSU to take legal action.

The university could expect Ford to come up with the entire $1.2 million the university believes it is owed. The contract called for a dollar-for-dollar buyout, and Ford had three years remaining on a deal worth $300,000 annually.

“We are going to have that expectation that liquidated damages are fulfilled,” said Nielsen. “Obviously, we have legal people who deal with our contracts, but our contract is very straightforward ... so we have that expectation.”

According to Nielsen, Bradley has not made an offer in the hopes that KSU would settle for less than $1.2 million.

SO WHAT’S NEXT?

Nielsen said a national search for its new head coach will begin immediately.

Longtime KSU assistant Rob Senderoff, who was named interim head coach on Monday, may at or near the top of Nielsen’s list.

Nielsen called Senderoff a “very real candidate” on Monday, and recognized the wishes of KSU’s basketball players that Senderoff get the job.

“I think that’s fairly typical in this situation ... but I also know it’s genuine because I’ve seen it first hand the relationships Rob has built with these young men,” said Nielsen. “I know they aren’t just acting purely out of emotion saying, ‘we want somebody who is here right now’.”

DEJA VU

KSU’s players made an appeal to Nielsen late Monday afternoon, walking as a team to the athletic director’s office to state their case for Senderoff.

The same scene occurred nine years ago when the entire roster of the Flashes’ 2002 Elite Eight team walked together into the office of then-athletic director Laing Kennedy to ask for then-assistant Jim Christian to be named head coach in the wake of Stan Heath’s departure for Arkansas. Those players got their wish.

GUT FEELING

Nielsen and executive associate athletic director Tom Kleinlein are smart people.

They understand why Kent State basketball is so successful. They saw it first hand when they traveled with this team and watched the interaction between coaches and players during the recent NIT run.

They will be diligent, just as they did when they found Darrell Hazell at Ohio State during their successful search for a new head football coach.

But you can bet in the back of their heads they will be using Senderoff as a measuring stick when meeting with other possible candidates like Xavier assistant Pat Kelsey, Ohio State assistant Jeff Boals and Syracuse and former KSU assistant Rob Murphy. All of those names would make sense.

In the end, Nielsen and Kleinlein understand the continuity and tradition that has made KSU basketball so successful for more than a decade, and my hunch is they are too smart to risk that.

They also just made a great decision in making Senderoff interim head coach. In less than a day, he had quelled the anger and fears of KSU’s players and put them back in class and working to get better for next year.

Those players have already been on an emotional rollercoaster, and they’ll now be operating with the coach they want in the head office for the next week or more.

Based on email, blog entries and message-board posts, Senderoff also appears to have the support of KSU’s fanbase.

Those fans who are calling for Senderoff should trust in Nielsen and Kleinlein and the work they have ahead of them. The athletic directors know Senderoff is a great candidate, and my gut feeling is they will confirm that during this search.

[CBXU]

Kelsey has pulled out of the Towson search (where he was believed to be the easy favorite from what I read).

Sounds like him and Kent State have some mutual interest (which is why I was asking in the first place). I think Kelsey would be a fantastic hire for Kent State.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Kelsey has pulled out of the Towson search (where he was believed to be the easy favorite from what I read).

Sounds like him and Kent State have some mutual interest (which is why I was asking in the first place). I think Kelsey would be a fantastic hire for Kent State.

Absolutely agree....being selfish, I want Kels at Xavier for a long time...but that isn't being realistic. The guy is a tireless worker and great recruiter. If KSU hires Kels, some fans may not be familiar with him or initially like the hire, but KSU fans will learn quickly that they hit a home run with a Kels hire.

Kels has the pipeline in recruiting North Carolina and Georgia. He is also a very good big man coach.

The only problem with Kelsey from a KSU perspective is that if...and its a big IF...Mack ever leaves X, Kelsey would be the first phone call made by X and I think if he is still at KSU at the time, he would come home ala Skip Prosser from Loyola after one year back to X.

Some team is going to hit the mother load when they land Kelsey...its just a matter of time.

[joepa66]

Nigel and CBXU....there IS a tie-in with Kelsey in this story:


Frontrunners emerging in KSU's search for Geno Ford's replacement
By David Carducci | Staff writer

Kent State’s search for a new head men’s basketball coach is officially under way in Houston.

Athletic director Joel Nielsen and executive associate athletic director Tom Kleinlein flew to Texas on Wednesday morning to interview candidates at the Final Four — an event as much college-basketball convention for coaches and administrators as it is a time to crown a national championship.

A KSU source said Nielsen and Kleinlein could return to Kent to begin mulling over their decision as early as Saturday.

According to several coaches of other teams who are attending the Final Four, the rumor mill in Houston had KSU assistant Rob Senderoff, Ohio State assistant Jeff Boals and Syracuse assistant Rob Murphy all scheduled to interview between Wednesday and Friday. Xavier assistant Pat Kelsey and Cleveland State assistant Jayson Gee are also rumored as possible candidates.

Senderoff is the popular favorite to be promoted in the wake of now-former KSU head coach Geno Ford’s decision to accept a job at Bradley University on Sunday.

Boals appears to be the biggest challenger to the program’s decade-old tradition of promoting from within. In 2002, KSU promoted Jim Christian. Three years ago, Ford moved up one seat to take over for Christian.

A source close to Ohio State head coach Thad Matta claimed KSU contacted Matta on Wednesday to question him about Boals, his assistant of two seasons.

Boals is widely considered a strong candidate to take over a Division I program in the not-too-distant future, but choosing him at Kent State could raise questions among Golden Flashes fans as well of the ire of the fans of at least two of their Mid-American Conference rivals.

Flashes supporters remember Boals as both an assistant coach under Keith Dambrot at Akron for three seasons and as a former college teammate of now-former KSU head coach Geno Ford at Ohio University in the mid-1990s.

Can KSU hire a former Zips assistant who helped Dambrot build the Akron program in large part by following the Kent State blueprint? If so, it would also pass over a longtime assistant in Senderoff, who played a major role in the creation of that blueprint.

Boals is also popular with Akron fans, who may have a difficult time seeing him on the bench of their arch-rival. He is also well-remembered at Ohio University, where he is widely considered a possible future candidate to return as a coach of the Bobcats.

Ironically, Boals and Ford were roommates at Ohio University as well as college teammates.

Murphy also has ties to Ford. Both served on Christian’s first staff at KSU.

One of Christian’s first moves after being named head coach in 2002 was to hire Murphy, who was the high-school coach of former KSU star Antonio Gates at Detroit Central.

Murphy’s reputation as recruiter caught led to a job at Syracuse after the 2004 season when Orange head coach Jim Boeheim was looking for an assistant to replace Troy Weaver.

While a KSU interview with Kelsey could not be confirmed, the Xavier assistant’s candidacy makes sense in large part because of the eight years he spent as an assistant coach and director of basketball operations at Wake Forest. Nielsen and Kleinlein both worked at Wake Forest at the same time as Kelsey, who left Winston-Salem two years ago to return to Xavier as associate head coach under Chris Mack.

Gee, who is an assistant on former KSU head coach Gary Waters’ staff at Cleveland State, spent three seasons as head coach at the University of Charleston from 1996-99. He is also a former assistant at Ohio University and Youngstown State.

Choosing any candidate over Senderoff would be a blow to KSU’s players, who have called for his promotion from associate head coach to head coach ever since they learned Ford had bolted to Bradley.

Senderoff has helped the Flashes go 157-76 overall and 86-34 in MAC play during his seven seasons as a KSU assistant under both Ford and Christian.

The Flashes were 25-12 last season when they became the first MAC team in more than 20 years to win outright regular-season championships in back-to-back years. They also advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament with wins at Saint Mary’s and Fairfield — a run that has raised expectations for the 2011-12 season.

KSU loses only one senior to graduation from last year’s team, but some other roster turnover is likely if Senderoff is not promoted.

Senderoff was named interim head coach on Monday.

[joepa66]

Bank on this......Longtime KSU Assistant Coach Rob Senderoff will be named the head guy at Kent on Thursday! :thumbs:

[joepa66]

Rob Senderoff named Kent State's new men's basketball coach
By David Carducci | Staff writer

Rob Senderoff will be named the 24th head men’s basketball coach in Kent State history Thursday at a 3:30 p.m. press conference on the main floor of the M.A.C. Center, which will be open to the public.

KSU athletic director Joel Nielsen informed the Golden Flashes’ players of Senderoff's promotion during an early-evening team meeting on Wednesday.

Ten days earlier, those same players were stunned by former coach Geno Ford’s sudden announcement that he was leaving for Bradley University.

Senderoff immediately became the popular choice to take over the KSU program within the team, the athletic department and the Flashes’ fan base.

Prior to being offered the job on Wednesday, the longtime KSU assistant had served as the team’s interim head coach. Senderoff interviewed with Nielsen and executive associate athletic director Tom Kleinlein last week during the Final Four in Houston. KSU’s list of candidates is known to have included Michigan State assistant Dwayne Stephens, Ohio State assistant Jeff Boals, Syracuse assistant Rob Murphy, Xavier assistant Pat Kelsey and IPFW head coach Dane Fife.

News of the interim tag being lifted from Senderoff’s title was met with enthusiasm from members of KSU’s extended family.

“I am truly excited for both Rob and Kent State,” said Texas Christian head coach Jim Christian, the former KSU coach, who brought Senderoff to Kent as part of his first staff in 2002. “Rob has played a very valuable role in all of the success of the Kent State program, and I know he feels such a strong attachment to what makes Kent so special.”

Senderoff’s contract is rumored to be a three-year deal worth $250,000 annually.

When Senderoff steps on the floor as head coach in 2011-12, it will mark his eighth season as a coach at KSU. No other coach has spent more time in Kent since the Flashes began a stretch that has seen them win 20 or more games in 12 of the last 13 seasons.

Maintaining that continuity was an important factor in the decision to promote Senderoff.

Assistant coaches Bobby Steinburg and Jordan Mincy will remain on staff at KSU, while former Flashes guard Mike McKee is expected to take over as director of basketball operations, replacing Jaden Uken, who will join Ford at Bradley.

Senderoff is also rumored to be working to bring former Flashes assistant Eric Haut back to to the Flashes’ coaching staff. Haut, who played at KSU from 2001-04, is currently on Christian’s staff at TCU.

KSU won its second consecutive Mid-American Conference championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament last season with a roster that loses only senior Rodriquez Sherman to graduation. Senderoff’s promotion should allow the Flashes to keep the core of that roster intact heading into 2011-12. Steinburg and Mincy’s decision to stay in Kent as part of Senderoff’s first staff instead of following Ford to Bradley makes it likely prized recruits Chris Evans and Kris Brewer will follow through on their verbal commitments to play for the Flashes next season.

Evans, a 6-foot-7 first-team junior college all-American from Wabash Valley Community College, was recruited to KSU by Steinburg. Brewer, a 6-foot-4 prep-school guard from Memphis, was recruited by Mincy.