MAC’s Third All-Time Winningest Coach Primed To Guide RedHawks Through 2008-09
OXFORD, Ohio—The Mid-American Conference’s third all-time winningest men’s basketball coach has signed a three-year contract extension. Miami University head men’s basketball coach Charlie Coles is set to guide the RedHawks through the 2008-09 season, Miami University Athletics Director Brad Bates announced today (July 27).
“I am pleased that Charlie has a strong desire to continue leading our men’s basketball program, and this well-deserved contract extension is an example of our desire to have him continue guiding this program,” said Bates. “Behind his charismatic disposition is the heart of a fiery competitor who demands maximum effort to achieve the lofty goals the team places upon themselves. Along with his staff, he pours himself into the betterment of this Miami program for which he once played, and, most importantly, into the student-athletes to help them achieve their potential in all aspects of life. Every year that I have been at Miami, Charlie’s teams have been in the championship hunt down to the last weeks of the season, including the 2005-06 championship season.”
Never one to shy away from scheduling the nation’s top teams, Coles’ non-conference schedules are annually ranked among the countries toughest Division I non-league slates. Despite rigorous schedules year-in and year-out, Coles—who enters his 11th season at the helm of the Miami program this year—has compiled a 175-126 (.581) record at Miami, which are the second-most wins in program history. Coles needs just 42 wins to surpass Darrell Hedric, who recorded a 216-157 record, as the program’s all-time wins leader.
Over 16 seasons as a head coach in the MAC—six at Central Michigan and 10 at Miami—Coles has amassed a 267- 210 (.560) overall record and a 165-113 (.594) MAC mark. Both his 267 overall career wins and 165 career MAC wins rank third among all-time MAC coaching leaders. Coles needs just 12 MAC wins to surpass former Ohio head coach Jim Snyder’s 176 MAC wins, which ranks second, and 30 MAC wins to exceed former Toledo head coach Bob Nichols’ league-record 194 conference wins.
During his Miami head coaching tenure, Coles has mentored 15 players who have garnered 20 All-MAC awards, including seven first-team honorees. Over the past three seasons, Miami has had four players capture First-Team All-MAC accolades and is the only MAC men’s basketball program to have at least one first-team honoree each of the last three years.
Under Coles, Wally Szczerbiak became the program’s third All-American, garnering first-team recognition from Basketball News, Sports Illustrated, Basketball America and John Wooden and second-team honors from the Associated Press, NABC and USBWA. Szczerbiak also was a unanimous selection as the MAC Player of the Year in 1999, while Rob Mestas earned the MAC Defensive Player of the Year award in 2000 and Chet Mason captured MAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades in 2005. Mike Ensminger was named a CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-American in 2001, just the fourth player to garner academic All-America status in program history, and was tabbed the 2001 Anson Mount Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
With Coles at the helm, Miami has won three MAC Championships (1997, 1999, 2005), a MAC Tournament Championship (1997) and advanced to postseason play four times (NCAA: 1997, 1999; NIT 2005, 2006), which included the program’s first NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in 1999. Nine players have earned a combined 12 MAC All-Tournament Team honors with Devin Davis being named the 1997 MAC Tournament MVP. Coles also directed Miami to a league-record five-straight MAC Tournament championship game appearances from 1997-2001. Every team during Coles’ MAC coaching tenure has at least advanced to the MAC Tournament quarterfinals. (In 2000, the MAC Tournament was expanded from an eight-team format to include all MAC programs. A first round was added and has been played at campus sites prior to the quarterfinals.)
In 2005, Coles guided Miami to its 21st Mid-American Conference Championship en route to MAC Coach of the Year honors, the second coach of the year award of his career. Miami set a program record with 13 home wins during the 2004-05 campaign and advanced to the NIT with a second consecutive berth in the NIT in 2006. Additionally, Miami is the only Mid-American Conference team to have one of the top three MAC records each of the last four years.
“We have been able to do some great things and have had some tremendous players come through this program, but there is so much more that our staff and our players aspire to accomplish,” said Coles, who turned 64 years old on February 6, 2006. “I am eager to continue working with our staff to tap all of the potential our players have to offer and continue bringing in quality student-athletes to Miami to see how much further we can push the success of this program.”
—MURedHawks.com— |