Long Beach State Hires Morgan

Wayne Morgan, a longtime assistant coach at NCAA tournament-finalist Syracuse, was introduced Wednesday as the men’s basketball coach at Long Beach State.

Morgan, 45, replaces Seth Greenberg, who left April 3 to take the head coaching job the University of South Florida. Morgan had been an assistant at Syracuse since 1984, and the Orangemen played in two national title games during his tenure. Morgan said he plans to help Long Beach reach similar heights.

“My No. 1 goal is to provide the best athletic and academic experience possible for these young men,” he said, during an afternoon news conference at the Pyramid. “And we want to make Long Beach State a household name, not just in California but everywhere from New York to Florida. Long Beach has a good national reputation, and we want to build on that and enhance it.”

Financial terms of Morgan’s contract were not released, but sources within the 49er athletic department said Morgan received a base salary of approximately $115,000. Certain performance-based incentives and other perks could push the total package to about $130,000 in its first year.

Long Beach players were pleased with Morgan’s selection as the 14th head coach in 49er history. He impressed several members of the Big West Conference championship team during a meeting Tuesday.

“We feel that he’s the right guy, and that he will do what’s best for the team,” said sophomore guard James Cotton, a first-team all-conference selection. “We’ve been on such an emotional roller coaster the last two weeks, going up and down and up and down. Now, we’re up again, and we all feel good about this.”

Morgan emerged from a pack of more than 100 applicants. He was among six finalists interviewed.

“He really blew our socks off during his interview,” said Long Beach associate athletic director Bill Husak, who chaired the search committee. “We were fortunate because we had so many good candidates to choose from, and we’re very pleased with the decision.”

Morgan said he has not decided on his staff. Long Beach assistants Clyde Vaughan, Matt Hart and Jason Levy will be considered for positions.

“It’s going to be an open process and we’re going to talk to everyone who is interested,” Morgan said. “When we finalize this staff, it’s going to be the best one for Long Beach State.”

Morgan will likely need to hire at least one assistant with recruiting experience on the West Coast. Although Morgan was an accomplished recruiter at Syracuse, credited with signing former stars such as Sherman Douglas and John Wallace, he was not primarily responsible for recruiting in this area.

Vaughan, also among the finalists for the head coaching job, was the lead recruiter on Greenberg’s staff. Vaughan is responsible for signing many of the 49ers’ top players.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t get the job, but they got a good man,” Vaughan said. “He’s going to do a good job, and I’d like to work with him if that’s the best situation for me and my family.”

After meeting with players and touring the Pyramid, Morgan said he became convinced Long Beach was the best situation for him. He is encouraged by the projected talent on next season’s team, which many Big West coaches said might be the conference’s best.

“I really think the cupboard is very full,” Morgan said. “Our goal is to dominate our conference and play as strong a nonconference schedule as possible.”

Kansas assistant Matt Doherty and Cal State Bakersfield Coach Pat Douglass also received much consideration. Doherty was the leading candidate as late as Tuesday night, when the search committee convened to make its final recommendation to interim Athletic Director Bill Shumard and Long Beach President Robert Maxson.

However, Doherty removed himself from consideration. And several sources said Douglass, winner of two Division II national championships at Bakersfield, did not interview as well as the other candidates in separate meetings with the search committee and the 49er players.

That left Morgan--a choice that is fine with Shumard and Maxson.

“This is a wonderful day in the life of this university,” Maxson said. “We got a great man for the job.”