LeatherneckNation / Specific Sports Topic Forums / Leatherneck Men's Basketball / Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach / Latest Posts

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

aku01 — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:02:51 GMT

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RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

LeatherCy — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:19:23 GMT

I think the AGR's should take the lead and establish the Molin"army" at Western!

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

B-Ball Fan — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:30:34 GMT

Good luck "Mo". Look forward to meeting you and hope the fans will come. Students have never really organized a student section like Molinari's Army at Bradley, but would be nice if you can resurrect it at WIU.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:04:49 GMT

Friday's Sports Commentary from Chris Duerr (KHQA-TV-7):

Molinari Hire infuses Leathernecks with MOmentum!!

Self-professed Program Builder lands in Macomb!!

By Chris Duerr
Posted: Friday, April 11, 2008 at 11:15 p.m.

JIM MOLINARI TAKES OVER THE REIGNS OF LEATHERNECK BASKETBALL!!

Going into the search process, Western Illinois Athletic Director Doctor Tim Van Alstine guaranteed us that his next hire would have a resume with head coaching experience...

What he did not tell us is that the new Leatherneck skipper would have references from Mike Krzyzewski.

Or come to us as a Land of Lincoln Native.

For both Western and new skipper Jim Molinari, the union seems a fit.

Jim Molinari: "The geographic location and the opportunity to build. I am a builder. I love building. I realize, Bradley won seven and eleven games the first two years and it is painful because sometimes what you understand intellectually is different when you go through it emotionally. But that is what I do. So this is another opportunity to take the foundation, take these young men and build into their lives. Build something special."

He has no illusions. And his eyes are wide open. Jim Molinari knows this is not a coaching cakewalk. History dictates that elevating the profile of a Division One basketball program long mired in mediocrity (and doing so the right way) breaks more coaches than it makes. The challenge then for Western was finding a candidate with both the coaching chops and desire to undertake and succede in this unique job with its unique built in challenges. It wasn't easy.

Dr Tim Van Alstine: "In fact, some of the other candidates that we did interview; they didn't give us the sense that they wanted to be here. Jim gave us a sense of confidence that he wanted to be here. He had a sense of confidence in our players and I think that really helped a lot. It made our players feel good; that they wanted to be part of a coaching staff and a program that felt they could win. Jim brings that to our program."

Molinari: "This felt right. I've called timeouts I the first four minutes of games, where our team might be winning 6-2 and said this doesn't fell right. This doesn't feel like who we are. Well, this feels right to me. That's really important. So I am obviously elated. And I feel a great burden of responsibility. They're showing confidence in me and I am going to take that responsibility."

Who the Leathernecks will be in the Coach Mo era remains to be seen. There are some basic tenets he adheres to. Education as a priority. Outreaching his fan base and the community....

Molinari: "We are going to give this a great shot at Western. Make it something that people can be proud of. Like Quincy. We want to build the tradition. I know the tradition of Quincy. My college roommate was Bob Spear. So I am very familiar with that. Quincy Tradition. And we want to have the same tradition."

Jim Matteson (longtime WHOI-TV Sports Director in Peoria) "The one thing I can say about Coach Mo is that he is passionate. He is passionate about his relationship with his players. He is passionate about his relationship with the media. He is definitely passionate about his relationship with fans. And he is passionate about winning."

And that passion extends to his calling card: Defense.

David Nurse, WIU Sophomore Guard "When we first heard (about Molinari's hire) everyone was like, ah man, because everywant wants to play offense but...Defense is what wins you games. We know that and that is what we are committed to doing.'

Molinari: "All I promise is what I can do. I do have experience. I have confidence in what I believe, my philosophy and I will work extremely hard. I know it's going to be a difficult challenge. I am a process person so I am going to go day by day"

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

LeatherCy — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:56:00 GMT

I just watched the video of the Press Conference. At the beginning Mo thanked some friends from Peoria for being there. He mentioned Steve Weaver. Steve is part of the Weaver Angus family that has Angus cattle, trotting horses, and a bunch of KFC franchises throughout the Midwest. Steve's wife is a Western alum. Sure doesn't hurt to have friends like the Weavers. Hopefully they will become ardent Leatherneck supporters.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

meganeck — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:44:03 GMT

Didn't go to the press conference but watched the video of it that is up on the WIU website.
Said all the normal coach - need to get to know the players, work together as a team, will be an agressive team, etc. A couple of interesting things first he did say he hadn't seen Western play this past year, so he knows nothing about the returning players. He was asked about the facilites and he kind of side stepped the question, but did say it is all about the home court advantage. If they can fill Western Hall then they would a great home court advantage and that is all that matters. Said a nice arena is nice to show recruits, but not necessary.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

LeatherCy — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:20:24 GMT

Anyone go to the Press Conference??? What did Mo have to say??

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

Football Fan — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:29:48 GMT

Congrats to Dr. Van Alstine! He has done a great job in the selection of our new B'ball coach. Think about it, he was able in 1 month to remove, advertise, and get us a proven winner as a D-1 coach. Compare that to Al, who has been working for 6 months trying to decide whether or not we should use the name "Westernwinds" . Great job Dr. Van Alstine! Now, back to FOOTBALL

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

western-101 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:52:08 GMT

LeatherCy (4/10/2008)

Why not a new arena? I can think of two places to start looking for funding. How does the Nardelli-Boyer Arena sound?

You set it up with them Cy and I will buy season tickets, and I make that proclimation knowing that I would probably only get to four games a year (better than just the one this year though).

I think if a new arena does get built with an agresive marketing campaign we could easily sell 1,800 season ticket holders.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

western-101 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:44:15 GMT

Well he is certainly not going bigger Coaching at Western as opposed to Northern.

Life is funny though, your career can sometimes take you places that you didn't expect. Life is what you make of it though and I am sure Mo is happy to be back in a head coaching position with a multi year contract. He has Central Illinois roots so being that Macomb is just an 80 minute drive from Peoria I am sure weighed in on the plus side for him.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

NIU_Huskies — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:22:27 GMT

Congrats on the hire, it was a great one!

I thought Ball State got a steal when they landed him as an assistant to their new coaching staff.

A few NIU fans wanted to bring Mo back last year when we were hiring a new coach. There was no point for us to travel down a road that was already traveled for a coach who left us to go "bigger".

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

LeatherCy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:19:00 GMT

Why not a new arena? I can think of two places to start looking for funding. How does the Nardelli-Boyer Arena sound?

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

western-101 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:26:31 GMT

Mo had one stipulation in this contract. Word is he insisted that a new arena be built. WIU relented and there should be an Assembly Hall West rising out of the cornfields in time for the first tip off.

I'm sorry. Being a smart alec is somewhat my nature

I must be in a good mood. This hire at the very least demonstrates to me that that the University is serious about getting Leatherneck Basketball back to winning. Maybe if Western has some consecutive winning seasons talk of replacing Western Hall with a new arena can at least move into the feasiblity and planning stages.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

meganeck — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:01:52 GMT

Well Neckfansince71 we expect all the scoops from you now, since you know Mo

Well at least we know Western will play good defense, hopefully all the returning players will stay on board and the campus and Macomb community get behind Mo and we can get this thing turned around. Hopefully he can snag some decent recruits yet this year.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:54:42 GMT

Jim Molinari hired as WIU Basketball Coach!!

Ray Harper curtails Macomb visit early, WIU gets former Bradley Skipper!!

By Chris Duerr
Sports Director, KHQA-TV-7, Hannibal/Quincy
Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 6:34 p.m.

WIU HIRES JIM MOLINARI AS NEW HEAD BASKETBALL COACH!!

Done deal!!

Former Bradley Coach Jim Molinari has accepted a contract offer from Western Illinois University and will officially be introduced tomorrow morning at 11:00am as the Leathernecks new head Basketball Coach.

The hire marks a significant turn of momentum in this coaching search, as the day started with every indication that former Kentucky Wesleyan Coach Ray Harper might be the candidate of choice.

In fact, Harper had interviews and events scheduled for the rest of today and into tomorrow morning, but decided to curtail his trip and perhaps for the best of all involved, Tim Van Alstine opened contract discussions with Molinari, who is currently employed as the lead assistant at Ball State.

In Coach Mo, the Leathernecks get a defensive guru who led Bradley to six NCAA Postseason appearances, including a 1996 NCAA Tournament bid.

He is also reknowned for doing things the right way...running a clean program and graduating 90% of his players over his tenure.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

The "PIT" Prognosticator — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:31:01 GMT

Here I come way out of my league.
Is he motivated to sell WIU and Macomb? Places like Depaul and Bradley were powers that attracted a lot of good players. How many years does he have left in him. Harper is alot younger. It has been said on here that Harper isn't good with the media. Niether was Bobby Knight.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

Neckfansince71 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:15:45 GMT

Who really knows for certain who was the #1 choice or the #2 choice??? Sounds like TV thought that Mo was the better choice!!! It has been said a number of times this is the most important hire of his tenure. Mo is really a great choice. If 1 year ago today you would have told me that Jim Molinari was going to be the next WIU basketball coach I would have smiled a big grin.

He brings instant credability, he knows what he is doing, and he is a straight shooter who will go over big time in Macomb!!!

If Harper was the number 1 then we would have just brought him in and said, how can we make it yours!!!!!!

Things seem to happen for a reason! And finally from the book of 6 degrees of seperation, 33 years ago, a young Mo and a young me sat at the Howard Johnson's at Lasalle Peru and shared a very late night cup of coffee and a piece of pie. He was recruiting Brad Waller and I was just a second year freshman coach in charge of keeping track of the team while the other coaches went out and boozed it up! I remember distinctly saying, "WIU is a great school!" He grinned and shook his head!

Of course I have exagerated but having coffee with him is absolutely the truth.

GO Mo Go!!!!!!

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

western-101 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:37:54 GMT

I am officialy excited:

My horse won. Now which window do I go to to pick up my winnings.

I am celebrating by going back to my original avatar.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:48:40 GMT

LOL. You beat me by 67 seconds!

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

meganeck — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:33:09 GMT

looks like I beat you by a minute 712

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:30:30 GMT

BREAKING NEWS ===> WGEM is reporting that Jim Molinari has been named the new men's basketball coach.

Source: Western Illinois Picks Molinari

Former Bradley head coach Jim Molinari has been offered the Western Illinois men's basketball head coaching position.

Western Illinois is set to hire Jim Molinari as it's new men's basketball coach, WGEM has learned.

Earlier Thursday the consensus had Ray Harper getting the job but late word out of Macomb has WIU athletic director Tim Van Alstine in serious contract negotiations with Molinari and announcement could come in the next few hours, sources tell WGEM.

WGEM Sports will have more on this developing story at 6 and 10.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

meganeck — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:29:23 GMT

WGEM is reporting on their website that Molinari is going to be the new head coach pending negotations. I wonder if Slick decided he would rather be an assistant at WKU or if the Western brass decided MO was the top choice.

On wikipedia, it already says that Molinari is the head coach of Western Illinois

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

western-101 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:08:38 GMT

So what if Mo is second choice? The job is still the same. It's not like he's being asked on a date and he already knows you called his friend and he said no. This is the real world and this how things work.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

B-Ball Fan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:00:21 GMT

Would we call it "As the Coach Turns ?? " Amazimg, just simply amazing that this is what it has come down to. And what if "Mo" doesn't want to be second choice then ?

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

LeatherCy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:54:36 GMT

WGEM received a call about an hour ago from Jason Kaufman, WIU SID cancelling the scheduled interview Ben Marth had with TVA at 3:00. According to Jason TVA was "in contract negotiations with a candidate that was not on campus today. So that must mean things didn't work out with Slick. What a shame! NOT! So the money now appears to be on MO if he will take being the second choice. Let's all hope so. The press conference is still on for 11:00 tomorrow morning.

This whole selection process should be made into a TV soap opera!!!

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

meganeck — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:35:05 GMT

It is looking like it will be Harper, I have no doubt he can coach, I'm just afraid at what type of player he will be bringing in. Mo has been moderately successful coaching but he has a solid reputation on making sure his players graduate. Which I think is important. As big of a jerk as Bobby Knight was that was one thing you could count on his players graduated. I have read that Western Kentucky is Harper's dream job, so If their current coach is successful and leaves Harper could be in line for that job. I guess we have to trust the Western brass that they know what they are doing if not this could be TVA's last hire.

Also Haper's assistant at Oklahoma City is the interim coach there now, but Harper made a comment about how great of a recruiter he is, so if Haprer is hired I wonder if he will talk his assistant coming here with him or if he stays and takes the head coaching job at OCU.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:32:59 GMT

From Chris Duerr, Sports Director at KHQA-TV-7, Hannibal/Quincy:

WESTERN Coaching Announcement Set for Friday!!

Either Ray Harper or Jim Molinari will be introduced as WIU Mens Basketball Coach Friday Afternoon!!

By Chris Duerr
Posted: Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 1:49 p.m.

WESTERN CALLS PRESS CONFERENCE TO ANNOUNCE NEW MENS BASKETBALL COACH!!

Western Illinois will introduce a new Mens Basketball Coach at a Friday Press Conference. At this point, not even the Leatherneck Athletic Brass is sure who that will be.

Former Kentucky Wesleyan Skipper Ray Harper is on campus Thursday and Friday for a slate of activities that will conclude tomorrow morning with a meeting with Western Illinois University President Al Goldfarb. The Western Athletic Department has already called a press conference for 11:00am on Friday to announce its decision. According to our source, that may be pushed back to early afternoon for the logistic purpose of bringing the other finalist, Jim Molinari back from Peoria to be introduced as the new Leatherneck skipper. This remains a fluid situation which seems to hinge largely on what Ray Harper wants to do....

Consistent with what we described for you earlier this week, our sources indicate that the Western brass is as much wooing Harper these next two days, rather than making a decision as to whether or not he is the right hire. As we told you Tuesday night, Harper has an offer on the table from Western Kentucky to serve as lead assistant at his alma mater to good friend Ken McDonald. From what we can gather, the decision seems to be Harper's to make, all other things (including salary) being equal. If Ray Harper wants to be a head coach, it appears he will be Western's guy. If not, Jim Molinari is very well thought of, particularly on the academic side of the equation at Western and we are told the WIU Athletic Brass would be completely comfortable with his hire. Right now, it appears that the ball is in Ray Harper's court.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:16:05 GMT

I'm still hoping that it will be Jim Molinari.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

B-Ball Fan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:23:20 GMT

Press Conferance at 11:00 A.M. tomorrow morning to announce new coach. My money says it will be Mr. Harper.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

UKfanJL — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:38:32 GMT

I think one of the main reasons he is not already a D1 coach is becuase he is not good with the media. He had Bruce Pearl's number when he was at USI, he was 13-4 vs Pearl. I was at around 10 of those games and Harper out coached him in most of those games, and most of the time USI had better players. When Harper was at KWC he was offered some smaller D1 jobs that I thought he should have taken, if he had I think everyone in the country would know his name by now. Like I said if you want W's he is your man.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

B-Ball Fan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:53:09 GMT

A smooth talker who impresses the media and that public would be nice, but "W's" and exciting style of B-ball is what will truly bring the fans back. "W's" and boring B-Ball won't bring them back either will it ?

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:37:40 GMT

Based on UK_Fan's comments, we have another reason NOT to hire Coach Ray Harper.

UK_Fan mentioned that Harper was not good with the Media. WESTERN desperately needs to "sell" the men's basketball program to the campus and Macomb community in order to re-build the interest. WESTERN needs a person who is skilled in PR--someone who can meet with campus and community groups. And that will involve making appearances on local radio and television as well

Hiring someone who is not capable of doing that will be a big mistake that WESTERN cannot afford to make.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

western-101 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:28:35 GMT

Thanks for the insight UKfan. Glad you found your way to Leathernecknation. I guess I glean from your post that Kentucky Wesleyan pretty much dominates the GLVC in basketball.

I am advocating Molinari, but that is mainly because I have been knowledgable of his coaching experience. If you are telling me that Harper is the real deal that sounds very promising.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

B-Ball Fan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:28:16 GMT

Thanks for the info. I could care less whether he gets along with the media as long as he turns the program around. It would be even better if he could get Josh to recommit to WIU.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

UKfanJL — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:15:29 GMT

Hey guys I live in Owensboro Ky, I am a UK fan and a KWC fan. Ray Harper can flat out coach. He would still be at KWC if it wasn't for the President who has since left. The GLVC hates it when KWC wins, so they will do what ever it takes to find something wrong with them. The word down here is that what happened was not Harpers fault, he was told the players were good to go.

If you are looking to win soon he is your man, if you are looking for a guy who is good with the media he is not your man. He is still a country boy at heart. If he is your new coach expect to win very soon and he might even keep Josh Harrellson, but I hope not he needs to be at Kentucky.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:42:26 GMT

The decision will be announced on Friday.

From today's Peoria Journal-Star:

Whittled down to 2 at WESTERN!!
New basketball coach will be Molinari or Harper!!

Thursday, April 10, 2008
BY KEVIN CAPIE
OF THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR

The new Western Illinois men's basketball coach will be either Jim Molinari, who interviewed in Macomb on Tuesday night and Wednesday, or Ray Harper, who arrived Wednesday night and will interview today.
A decision will be made tonight with an announcement expected on Friday.

Harper has yet to be offered the Leathernecks coaching job. But he already accepted an assistant coaching position at Western Kentucky if he does not get the WIU job.

"I feel pretty comfortable with the situations," Harper told the Associated Press.

Harper resigned Tuesday as head coach at Oklahoma City University - knowing that he will have either Division I position - after leading the Stars to back-to-back NAIA titles.

In 12 seasons as a head coach Harper is 337-62 with four national championships. He won the NCAA Division II title in 1999 and 2001 with Kentucky Wesleyan.

Harper left there in 2005 after nine seasons while the NCAA investigated KWU. No coaches were sanctioned although eight sports were put on probation for lack of institutional control.

Western athletics director Tim Van Alstine said that he is convinced Harper played no role in the infractions that also led to Wesleyan losing its 2003 runner-up status.

"We looked very closely at that," Van Alstine said. "It was a case where they didn't have anybody overseeing compliance issues. They had nobody doing a job where we have five levels of oversight."

Molinari, who coached at Bradley from 1991 to 2002, returned to Peoria after meeting with other Western coaches and higher-level university administration on Wednesday.

"Both of them are really impressive," Van Alstine said. "I don't think we can go wrong with either of them."

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

western-101 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:01:10 GMT

Agree with you Meganeck. I am also a Bradley fan (mosty a by-product of where I live). Molinari is getting much love from the Bradley faithfull. Most Braldley fans have a very high opinion of Coach Mo. and the Buzz around Peoria with regards to the WIU coaching job is people want to see Mo get the job. I know I do.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

meganeck — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:15:20 GMT

Thanks for the scoops Cy, I still would like to know the reason about Hinson. The Master's degree thing just seems lame. I have been reading about Harper and people say he is good at getting Juco guys and castoffs, but doesn't have a real good rep getting high school kids. That could be a problem. Mo has a huge advantage because he has established connections in Illinois,esp Peoria and that could be huge.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

WIU712 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:59:04 GMT

I'm hoping that it will be anyone besides Ray Harper.

RE: Who will be WIU's next Men's B-Ball Coach

Leatherface — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:44:34 GMT

I'll retract my statement. Frustration setting in- B-Ball Fan.