NEW: Agel Fired at Brown
Monday, March 05, 2012
One day after the University of Rhode Island fired men’s basketball coach Jim Baron, Brown University fired its men’s basketball coach Jesse Agel. Agel met with athletic director Michael Goldberger this morning where he received the news of his dismissal.
"I want to thank Jesse for his six years of service to Brown, its basketball program and our student-athletes," said Goldberger on the school's official website www.brownbears.com.
Agel just completed his fourth season as head coach of the Bears. He compiled an overall record of 39-79 in those four seasons including an Ivy League record of 14-42. His winning percentage of .331 was the third lowest of any coach in the history of the program.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAgel was brought to Brown by Craig Robinson six years ago as an assistant coach after spending 18 years as an assistant at Vermont.
This season the Bears went (8-23) overall and (2-12) which placed them seventh in the Ivy League. The 23 losses tied a school record for the most losses in a single season.
What will be interesting to watch is what Brown does from here. Goldberger has already announced that he will be retiring on June 30. For that reason, he may not want to hire a new men’s basketball coach, choosing to let his successor make that decision.
The school's website announced that TJ Sorrentine has been named the interim coach, but did not say if that was for the year or until a coaching search is opened and completed.
Brown will have a veteran team returning for the 2012-2013 season which could compete in the top half of the Ivy League. Sorrentine has the support of the players and would be an excellent choice to run the team next season.
Sorrentine is a local product out of St. Raphael Academy where he played for his father. He was a standout player at Vermont where he helped lead the Catamounts program to unparalleled success as a player.
Should Brown open up a search for a new head coach there would likely be many applicants for the position. Prior to Agel, Craig Robinson and Glen Miller both did well enough to leave for bigger jobs.
Some familiar names that would likely be considered are Sorrentine, Rhode Island College coach Bob Walsh and even Miller, who is currently an assistant at UConn.
