Utah set to name UM alum Boylen Ex-Bear to get 1st job as head coach

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah is set to hire former University of Maine player and Michigan State assistant coach Jim Boylen.

A person close to Boylen confirmed the move to The Associated Press on Monday, requesting anonymity because the hiring wasn’t expected to be announced until 3 p.m. MDT Tuesday. Utah officials wouldn’t confirm the hiring ahead of the news conference.

The 41-year-old Boylen was a two-year captain for UMaine and runner-up to Northeastern University’s Reggie Lewis as ECAC North player of the year during his senior season (1987).

It will be the first head coaching job for Boylen, who has been an assistant to Michigan State coach Tom Izzo the past two seasons after 13 years as an NBA assistant – including 11 years with the Houston Rockets and stints with Golden State and Milwaukee.

Boylen called a former boss, former Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich, with the news Monday.

“I believe in this guy. He’s always done a great job,” Tomjanovich said.

Tomjanovich said he talked to Utah athletic director Chris Hill and gave a glowing recommendation for Boylen, who joined the Rockets as the team’s video coordinator in 1992.

“He’s one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever been around. … I think it’s overdue that he got a job,” Tomjanovich said.

Boylen will replace Ray Giacoletti, who resigned after three seasons and took a job as an assistant at Gonzaga. The Utes went 11-19 last season.

Boylen began his coaching career at Michigan State as a graduate assistant to Jud Heathcote in 1987. Twenty years later, he is getting his first job as a head coach at a program has struggled badly in the last two years. Utah was in the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament just two years ago, but has gone 25-34 the past two seasons.

Giacoletti announced the day before the Utes closed the regular season at BYU that he would be leaving once the season was over.

Giacoletti was hired only three years ago to replace Rick Majerus, who had been at Utah since 1989 before leaving midway through the 2003-2004 season for health reasons.

Utah gave Giacoletti a healthy buyout in return for his resignation. On Monday, Giacoletti got his new job at Gonzaga.

Boylen’s hiring was first reported Monday on The Salt Lake Tribune’s Web site.

Binghamton hires Broadus

Stan Heath was fired Monday after five seasons as the basketball coach at Arkansas while Binghamton and Liberty hired coaches.

Binghamton announced the hiring of Kevin Broadus, a Georgetown assistant, and Liberty University tabbed Ritchie McKay, who was dismissed last month at New Mexico.

Meanwhile, Rick Pitino said he’s happy coaching Louisville and wouldn’t consider returning to Kentucky, the school he led to the national championship in 1996.

“I would never ever leave (Louisville) to go to another college because they’re my family,” Pitino said Monday.

Pitino, who was “shocked” by Tubby Smith’s sudden departure last week, sees too much potential in the Cardinals to consider leaving. Louisville went 24-10 this season and finished second in the Big East before falling to Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The Razorbacks made the NCAA tournament thanks to a late-season run, but that was not enough to save Heath’s job. The Razorbacks (21-14) lost 77-60 to Southern California in the first round. Heath’s record at the school was 82-71, but he went 31-49 in the Southeastern Conference.

Broadus has business to attend to before heading to Binghamton. He’s still an assistant at Georgetown, which is in the Final Four. He joined the Georgetown staff three years ago, and is optimistic about Binghamton.

“I believe the program is untapped with all the support it has,” he said. “We should be gunning to win the America East Championship. That’s my goal.”

Broadus will become the second basketball coach since Binghamton began playing in Division I in 2001. He replaces Al Walker, who was recently reassigned to an administrative job in the athletic department.

McKay will succeed former Bangor Christian star Randy Dunton at Liberty in Lynchburg, Va. The evangelical school went 14-17 this year, 8-6 in the Big South Conference.

“He brings with him a wealth of experience that will allow our basketball program to move to the highest level,” athletic director Jeff Barber said.