Five more names have surfaced with regards to the ongoing search for the new Cornell men’s basketball coach. According to yesterday’s Philadelphia Daily News, Penn assistant coach Steve Donahue, Rutgers assistant Walter Townes, Western Kentucky assistant Pete Hermann, and St. Bonaventure assistant Joe Lombardi are all in the hunt for the job recently vacated by Scott Thompson.
The Daily Sun reported yesterday that current Big Red assistant Ray Jones is also being considered for the position.
Associate Director of athletics Bob Chaddock confimed all the names, and added that Jones, Connors, and Townes would be interviewing next week.
The six prospective coaches are thought to be the finalists of a wide-ranging search conducted by the athletic department.
The Daily News also reported that Donahue has already had two interviews with the athletic administration, and that a decision on all the candidates will likely be made by late next week.
Thompson decided to step down on July 28th, citing his recent bout with colon cancer as the primary factor in the decision.
All six candidates have padded their resumes with extensive experience on the collegiate level:
Jones, who has been with Cornell since July 1996, also spent time on the bench at Idaho, Wyoming, Minnesota, South Carolina, Furman, Duke, and Cincinatti.
Donahue spent time at the Philadelphia Textile and Science of Division II before his current 10-year stint at Penn.
Hermann is the only one of the six with a taste of head coaching, having spent six years guiding the Navy squad. But, in addition to Western Kentucky, he has been an assistant both at Navy as well as Kansas State.
Lombardi has put in his time as an assistant at St. Bonaventure, St. Francis, Indiana University of Pensylvania, and Youngstown State.
Townes has made his rounds through the assistant coaching ranks, with his stops including Holy Cross, Dartmouth, and St. John’s, all before his current spot at Rutgers.
And Connors, who declined comment for this article, has been an assistant at Umass since 1998.
Archived article by Shiva Nagaraj