After Four Seasons, Ellerbe Is Forced Out at Michigan
Brian Ellerbe will not return as Michigan’s coach after being asked to resign by Athletic Director Bill Martin.
Ellerbe finished his fourth season as coach of the Wolverines. Athletic Director Bill Martin said Tuesday he did not see sufficient improvement in a program that was once among the sport’s elite.
Michigan went 10-18 this season and 4-10 in the Big Ten Conference, closing with an 82-80 loss to Penn State in the conference tournament. Ellerbe was 62-60 during his stay at Michigan.
“The program and the student-athletes did not make progress over this year,” Martin said.
Martin said he asked Ellerbe to resign Sunday. Michigan will have to pay Ellerbe about $450,000 for the remaining three years on his contract.
“Brian took over this team in the midst of some trying times, and we all realize the challenges he has faced,” Martin said. “I considered this during my evaluation of the team.
“In the end, my decision was based on the fact that I did not see the improvement in the program over the past four years that I hoped for and that I believe is possible,” he added. “I believe it is in the best interests of our student-athletes and the basketball program as a whole to have new leadership at this time.”
Ellerbe said he ran the program with “integrity,” and he expressed his thanks for the opportunity.
Martin said he will create a small committee of former and current players and staff to help evaluate coaching candidates.
Martin said he may contact Rick Pitino, who led Kentucky to the 1996 national championship and recently left as coach and president of the Boston Celtics.
*
Texas Tech officials could offer Bob Knight their head coaching job on the spot when he visits Thursday.
But a school spokeswoman in Lubbock said there are no plans to bend a university policy requiring that the job remain open for 10 working days, a period that ends at 5 p.m. on March 23.
Knight is being wooed to succeed fired coach James Dickey.
*
Duke teammates Shane Battier and Jason Williams and North Carolina’s Joseph Forte were named to the Associated Press All-America team.
Notre Dame’s Troy Murphy and Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen were the other first-team selections.
Battier also won the Naismith Award as the nation’s top player.
*
On the injury front, Duke will have Williams, who sprained his ankle Sunday against North Carolina, for a first-round game against Monmouth on Thursday. Center Carlos Boozer, who broke a bone in his right foot Feb. 27 against Maryland, was ruled out of the first two rounds of the tournament.
Florida forward Brent Wright had another operation on his injured right foot and will miss the tournament.
Iowa guard Luke Recker, who suffered a chip-fracture of his right kneecap in a Jan. 27 game against Indiana, is listed as questionable for the Hawkeyes’ game against Creighton.
*
Kevin Bromley, interim coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for the season’s final two months, was promoted to head coach. Bromley took over when Jeff Schneider, the Mustangs’ coach since 1995, resigned Jan. 10 with the Mustangs mired in a five-game losing streak. . . . Northeastern Coach Rudy Keeling was fired after failing to produce a winning record in five seasons.
*
CBS announced its television lineup for Friday’s NCAA tournament games. In Los Angeles, the first game at 9:25 a.m. will be Gonzaga-Virginia, followed about noon by Eastern Illinois-Arizona. The later telecasts will be Cal State Northridge-Kansas at 4:40 p.m. and Fresno State-California about 7.
*
Notre Dame’s Ruth Riley, Georgia’s Kelly Miller, Southwest Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles, Purdue’s Katie Douglas and Oklahoma’s Stacey Dales were named to the Associated Press All-America women’s team.
Texas El Paso Coach Sandra Rushing has resigned, citing the frustrations of recent injuries to her players and the NCAA probation. . . . Lisa Fitch resigned as coach of Wright State. The Raiders were 6-22 this season.