Ok, been on the phone and here are a few updates....
- As I hinted at in the other thread this morning about Willard's staff, Tony Skinn is officially a done deal. He previously worked with Willard at Seton Hall before joining Chris Holtmann and moving on to Ohio State this season. Before Seton Hall he was at Louisiana Tech and he coached for Team Takeover before that. As a college player, he was a part of that Cinderella Final Four team at George Mason under Larranaga.
- I spoke to a source that is extremely close to Seton Hall associate head coach Grant Billmeier this afternoon and the latest is that he is up in the air at the moment. There has been talk both that he has told some he is coming to Maryland with Willard as well as talk that he is a frontrunner for the Saint Peter's job which is expected to open up when Shaheen Holloway's season is over. It sounds like as of this moment, he is in a holding pattern as he seems to want to wait it out and see if he can possibly get the head job at Saint Peter's. If he were to wait it out too long and not get the Saint Peter's job, it sounds like it is possible he could have a spot on Holloway's staff at Seton Hall as a fall back.
- Former Rhode Island head coach David Cox has been another name I've heard mentioned quite a bit this afternoon. At least one source believes he will be on staff. It sounds like if things with Billmeier were to drag on for too long, Cox could be in line for the associate head coaching position. Cox is extremely well respected locally, having spent time on staff at Georgetown and also having coached for DC Assault. He was also Eddie Jordan's associate head coach at Rutgers. Some of the guys he coached with Assault include former NBA players Dante Cunningham and Michael Beasley. If Billmeier remains up in the air, I think there is a good chance you could see Cox as associate head coach. But if Billmeier does end up joining Willard's staff at Maryland, I'm not sure if Cox would be willing to come on board further down the bench.
- One interesting new name I heard as a possibility this afternoon is actually one of David Cox' former Assault players, Villanova assistant Dwayne Anderson. Anderson prepped at St. John's College in DC and was a captain starter on Jay Wright's first Final Four team at Villanova. After a pro career overseas, Anderson joined Pat Chambers' staff at Penn State for five years before moving on to Villanova where he spent the past three years as the DOBO before being elevated to the bench this season. Anderson is extremely plugged in with the local AAU scene. Although he never coached local AAU ball, he's extremely tight with Team Takeover director Keith Stevens and his younger brother Darian Anderson played for Takeover before going on to have a solid college career at Fairleigh Dickinson. Among the recruits he helped PSU land were top-50 Philly PG Tony Carr, local Rivals150 wing Josh Reaves and current Gonzaga starting guard Rasir Bolton. Anderson was also the lead recruiter for Villanova incoming five-star and McDonald's All-American wing Cam Whitmore.
- Other names that appear to still be in the mix include Duane Simpkins, Brendan Straughn and perhaps several others. All I can say is that this all appears pretty fluid at the moment. The one thing I can say with 100% certainty is that Tony Skinn is on board as the first assistant hire. Whether the next assistant to be officially named is Billmeier, Cox or someone else, can't say just quite yet.
- As I hinted at in the other thread this morning about Willard's staff, Tony Skinn is officially a done deal. He previously worked with Willard at Seton Hall before joining Chris Holtmann and moving on to Ohio State this season. Before Seton Hall he was at Louisiana Tech and he coached for Team Takeover before that. As a college player, he was a part of that Cinderella Final Four team at George Mason under Larranaga.
- I spoke to a source that is extremely close to Seton Hall associate head coach Grant Billmeier this afternoon and the latest is that he is up in the air at the moment. There has been talk both that he has told some he is coming to Maryland with Willard as well as talk that he is a frontrunner for the Saint Peter's job which is expected to open up when Shaheen Holloway's season is over. It sounds like as of this moment, he is in a holding pattern as he seems to want to wait it out and see if he can possibly get the head job at Saint Peter's. If he were to wait it out too long and not get the Saint Peter's job, it sounds like it is possible he could have a spot on Holloway's staff at Seton Hall as a fall back.
- Former Rhode Island head coach David Cox has been another name I've heard mentioned quite a bit this afternoon. At least one source believes he will be on staff. It sounds like if things with Billmeier were to drag on for too long, Cox could be in line for the associate head coaching position. Cox is extremely well respected locally, having spent time on staff at Georgetown and also having coached for DC Assault. He was also Eddie Jordan's associate head coach at Rutgers. Some of the guys he coached with Assault include former NBA players Dante Cunningham and Michael Beasley. If Billmeier remains up in the air, I think there is a good chance you could see Cox as associate head coach. But if Billmeier does end up joining Willard's staff at Maryland, I'm not sure if Cox would be willing to come on board further down the bench.
- One interesting new name I heard as a possibility this afternoon is actually one of David Cox' former Assault players, Villanova assistant Dwayne Anderson. Anderson prepped at St. John's College in DC and was a captain starter on Jay Wright's first Final Four team at Villanova. After a pro career overseas, Anderson joined Pat Chambers' staff at Penn State for five years before moving on to Villanova where he spent the past three years as the DOBO before being elevated to the bench this season. Anderson is extremely plugged in with the local AAU scene. Although he never coached local AAU ball, he's extremely tight with Team Takeover director Keith Stevens and his younger brother Darian Anderson played for Takeover before going on to have a solid college career at Fairleigh Dickinson. Among the recruits he helped PSU land were top-50 Philly PG Tony Carr, local Rivals150 wing Josh Reaves and current Gonzaga starting guard Rasir Bolton. Anderson was also the lead recruiter for Villanova incoming five-star and McDonald's All-American wing Cam Whitmore.
- Other names that appear to still be in the mix include Duane Simpkins, Brendan Straughn and perhaps several others. All I can say is that this all appears pretty fluid at the moment. The one thing I can say with 100% certainty is that Tony Skinn is on board as the first assistant hire. Whether the next assistant to be officially named is Billmeier, Cox or someone else, can't say just quite yet.
