Massachusetts athletic director Ryan Bamford appears closer to appointing the next head coach of the UMass men’s basketball team.
Boston Celtics assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry is expected to have a second meeting with school officials after being interviewed for the job earlier this month and emerging as a “serious” contender for the position, according to a report from The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Shrewsberry has been on the Celtics staff since Brad Stevens became head coach in the summer of 2013 and was Boston’s summer league coach each of the past two seasons. Previously, the 40-year-old served as an assistant under Stevens at Butler, serving as an assistant coach from 2008-2010 and coordinator of basketball operations during the 2007-08 season. Shrewsberry served the same roles at Purdue and Marshall, as coordinator of basketball operations with the Thundering Herd and as assistant coach with the Boilermakers, both two-season stints. He spent two seasons at the head coach of Indiana University-South Bend.
UMass fired coach Derek Kellogg after the Minutemen (15-18, 4-14 Atlantic 10) were eliminated in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. Kellogg spent nine seasons in Amherst, compiling a 155-137 record (.531 winning percentage) with one NCAA tournament appearance in 2013.
Bamford has vowed to have the position filled before the end of the month, while paying the next head coach between $800,000-900,000.
Kyle DaLuz can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Kyle_DaLuz.
