Recruiting Roundup: Weekend Visits and Tidbits
By JACOB POLACHECK **James Wiseman, the 6-foot-11 center
By JACOB POLACHECK **James Wiseman, the 6-foot-11 center
By ADAM ZAGORIA
Rhode Island elevated assistant coach David Cox to head coach on Wednesday.
A press conference is set for 11 a.m. on Friday.
Cox, who interviewed for the job on Tuesday, will earn $700,000 per year for five years. Cox has language in his contract that said if he wa not named head coach following Dan Hurley’s departure for another job, he would be paid $150,000, sources said.
“The University of Rhode Island is pleased to name David Cox as the new head coach of our men’s basketball program,” URI President David M. Dooley said in a statement. “David has been an integral part of building our men’s basketball program to where it is today, and with his work ethic and high character, we believe he was the best person to keep us as a premiere team in the Atlantic 10 for years to come.”
Cox, a former AAU coach with the DC Assault and former Rutgers assistant, was instrumental in the recruitment of Indiana transfer Stanford Robinson, guards Jeff Dowtin and Fatts Russell as well as center Michael Tertsea. He also was the primary recruiter for three members of the 2018 class – Jermaine Harris, Brendan Adams and Tyrese Martin. That class was ranked as a top 25 class nationally.
By ADAM ZAGORIA
BOSTON — Rhode Island athletic director Thorr Bjorn hopes to name a successor to Dan Hurley within the next “10-14 days,” he told ZAGSBLOG.
Hurley on Friday was introduced as the new coach at UConn, where he agreed to a six-year deal that will pay him $2.75 million the first year.
During his introductory press conference, Hurley mentioned that one of his former assistants remains in the mix for the Rhode Island job. Although he did not mention David Cox by name, it is thought Hurley would like to see Cox get the position. Tom Moore, another of Hurley’s assistants, is coming to UConn with him.
Cox was never tabbed “coach-in-waiting,” despite reports, but he does have language in his contract that says if he is not named head coach following Hurley’s departure for another job, he would be paid $150,000, sources said.
Cox, a former AAU coach with the DC Assault and former Rutgers assistant, is largely responsible for the Rams’ 2018 recruiting class, ranked No. 30 nationally by 247Sports.com, and No. 1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
By ADAM ZAGORIA
PITTSBURGH — In the wake of an emotional NCAA Tournament loss to Duke, Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley said he “could give two craps” about potential job openings to which he’s been linked.
Hurley has been linked to the openings at UConn and Pittsburgh, both of which presumably would offer him more money than he currently makes.
“Listen, I could give a crap about who’s got an opening or anywhere, I haven’t thought about it for a second,” Hurley said following his team’s 87-62 loss to the Blue Devils at PPG Paints Arena. “I could care less about any other school in the country that’s looking for a coach or talks about me in social media. I could give two craps about that. My heart, my mind is with this program and these players that just lost a brutal game after having an amazing last couple seasons.”
