CS Fullerton Finishes Interviews of Finalists for Basketball Job

Cal State Fullerton moved closer to naming its basketball coach Thursday with the completion of candidate interviews.

Interim Coach Bob Hawking was the last of the three finalists to meet with the screening committee and Athletic Director John Easterbrook. Utah assistant Donny Daniels and Riverside Community College Coach Bob Schermerhorn visited the campus earlier in the week.

Associate Athletic Director Maryalyce Jeremiah, said the committee did not rank the candidates but only indicated whether the prospective coaches were acceptable in her report to Easterbrook.

Easterbrook said he will meet further with university officials today regarding the selection.

“It seemed like everything went well,” Hawking said. “I met with a lot of different people, and we had the opportunity to talk about where we’d like to see the program go basketball-wise as well as academically.”

Hawking completed his interview day in a meeting with Easterbrook, as had the other candidates. “He said he expected an announcement to be made sometime in the next three or four days,” Hawking said. “There obviously are two other qualified candidates, but I feel good about my position.”

Hawking said he believes recruiting has gone well despite the uncertainty. “We signed two players early and we’re sitting on two more commitments now, waiting for paperwork from them,” he said.

Daniels and Schermerhorn also said they were pleased with their interviews.

“I thought it went well,” Daniels said. “They want to be competitive . . . with a good blend of academics and athletics. There’s a lot of energy there.”