In what should come as a surprise to no one, applications for the Monmouth men’s basketball job are pouring in.
A source close to the athletic department said the school had already received 55 applications to serve as Dave Calloway’s successor.
According to the source, among those in the mix are Christian Brothers Academy coach Geoff Billet (pictured); Davidson assistant Jimmy Fox; Dennis Wolff, the Director of Basketball Operations at Virginia Tech; Temple assistant Matt Langel; NJIT coach Jim Engles; Rutgers assistant Van Macon; and Notre Dame assistant Martin Ingelsby.
St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle, former Rutgers coach Fred Hill and Wagner assistant Bobby Hurley have also been linked to the job. Several sources indicated Hurley would not take the job because he doesn’t want to coach against his brother, Wagner coach Dan Hurley.
Sources close to former St. John’s coach Norm Roberts said he is not a candidate.
Billet is seen by many as a strong candidate. As an assistant at Monmouth under Calloway, he helped lead the Hawks to two Northeast Conference titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Billet has the endorsement of Jersey Shore Warriors AAU coach Tony Sagona.
“Billet is a great fit,” Sagona said. “He was here as an assistant. Geoff was a Big East assistant at both Rutgers and at Seton Hall. He played at Rutgers. He’s a local guy. He’s got contacts, college coaches, all the high school coaches.”
Sagona also said both of Monmouth’s 2011 commitments, Andrew Nicholas and Austin Tillotson of Eastern York (Pa.), were honoring their commitments to Monmouth. Both play for the Warriors.
Another factor to keep in mind that is that Dennis Coleman is on the board of trustees. Coleman represents over 30 head coaches in basketball and football, including Jamie Dixon of Pitt, Jeff Capel of Oklahoma, Phil Martelli of St. Joseph’s, Fran Dunphy of Temple and Johnny Dawkins of Stanford.
Coleman did not immediately respond to a phone message Tuesday.
The source said interviews will begin early next week and that Monmouth wants to get a new coach in quickly.
“They want to get it over within 2-3 weeks,” the source said. “It’s one of the best jobs in the [Northeast] Conference. It’s better than a lot of Patriot and America East jobs.”
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jimmersav / March 1, 2011
I feel it will be a crime if Monmouth doesn’t hire Kevin Boyle, all you need to do is look across the Outerbridge and the success that Hurley is having at Wagner, similar to Hurley , Boyle is already an established coach his connections in the metropolitan area will only lead to big time recruits coming to the hidden gem of Jersey that is Monmouth, they do not need Billet who is from the Jersey Shore and who’s connections are no farther than Tony Sagona, and are nowhere near where they need to be to attract top talent not only in the metropolitan area but across the country and make Monmouth a top mid major where they belong.
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mouseattack44 / March 1, 2011
The St Pats Coach has a NATIONAL following, and reputation. His experience building/rebuilding a program and maintaining it for 16 years has him as the LEADER in the clubhouse….
He is the guy to beat for this job is the inside word, with USA basketball, Coach K, the van Gundys, Colangelo, NIKE among others that have dialed the @to Monmouth…
Gefry Billet needs to win a Shore Tournament or at least make it to semi-finals before he would even be considered as applicant to be assistant at the St Pats school.
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joseph1463 / March 1, 2011
Kevin Boyle is your man here. He has a better team then Rutgers right now. He can coach. And he is the top Recruiter in Tri-State Area right now. If you can get him, take him.
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