Jun 12 / Rob

Buckle Up, Mike Deane is Joining the JMU Coaching Staff


Last week former JMU assistant coach Lou Rowe left to take an assistant position at Rider. To fill the void on Matt Brady’s staff, JMU has hired Mike Deane. Deane has head coaching experience including stops at Marquette, Sienna, and most recently Wagner. In his first year at Sienna he had the opportunity to coach a senior point guard with impeccably parted hair named Matt Brady. Yes, that Matt Brady. Now Brady is bringing his old coach back to help him right the ship after a disappointing 2011-2012 season.

I know what you’re thinking already. “But he’s just an assistant coach, what’s the big deal?” I’ll tell you what the big deal is. It’s summer and until we hear some real news coming for the CAA meetings, we have nothing to write about. Nothing at all. So when JMU hires an assistant coach who once installed a seatbelt on his sideline chair in an attempt to avoid technicals, we absolutely need to post about it. It’s in our by-laws.

In addition to receiving his 15 minutes for the seatbelt gag, Deane has racked up over 400 wins as a head coach. He has a lifetime record of 437-322. He also has taken 3 different teams, Marquette, Siena, and Lamar, to the NCAA tournament. In 1989 his Siena team upset a Stanford team that had gone 26-7 and earned a 3 seed. Deane’s most recent stop was at Wagner, where he managed to have only 2 winning seasons in 7 years. He was fired in 2010 after Wagner struggled to a 5-26 record. His admirers, such as ESPN analyst and former Vermont coach Tom Brennan, claim he’s one of the best X’s and O’s guys around. However, his detractors allege that he simply isn’t able to relate to today’s players. Here’s to hoping the admirers are right.

 

7 Comments

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  1. Coach Priz / Jun 13 2012

    I think we need less Xs and Os and more relating to players to get them to execute the Xs and Os.

  2. 2004 Duke / Jun 13 2012

    It can’t get any worse, so in hiring this guy there is nowhere to go but up.

    When Brady’s contract is not extended, maybe JMU can hire Dawn Evans to coach the men’s team to remind them what success (and respect) looks like.

  3. Sdubs / Jun 13 2012

    I’m curious about the transitions-lenses-inside situation. Also, he looks a little like Christopher Lloyd. Which could be good. Or terrifying.

  4. Rob / Jun 13 2012

    Priz, I agree that from the outside looking in it seems like they need a guy who can relate to the players. However, that was the way Rowe’s role was always described to me and it clearly didn’t equate to good results, so maybe they just want to try a different approach.

    And Sdubs, I love the Christopher Walken reference.

  5. Dukie95 / Jun 13 2012

    haha @ transition-lenses-inside situation

  6. drew / Jun 26 2012

    The name of the school is SIENA… NOT SIENNA

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