|
University of Maine head men's basketball coach Ted Woodward begins his fifth season at the helm of the Black Bears. Maine returns nine letterwinners and welcomes in six newcomers to the fold. ?"We are very excited about the players we have brought into our basketball program," said Woodward. "They represent our vision personally, academically, and athletically. Although we have youth, I believe we have a special core of people and players to take this program to a special level, and a group I think fans will enjoy following throughout their careers as Black Bears." ?Furthermore, the Black Bears will continue to play a challenging schedule which includes trips to Oklahoma, Boston College, Providence and two tournaments: the University of South Alabama Basketball Classic, hosted by NCAA Tournament participant South Alabama, and the 100 Club Classic hosted by Kennesaw St. ?Last year, Woodward led the youngest team in America East to wins over the defending champion Albany Great Danes and eventual champion UMBC. Even more impressive, the Black Bears won at their opponents' home courts. Woodward led the 2006-07 squad to a fourth-place finish in America East and a sixth-place finish the year before, 2005-06. Woodward led Maine to a fifth-place finish in 2004-05, including a spot in the America East Conference semifinals. He earned his first win as a head coach on Nov. 26, 2004 with a 47-44 win over Rhode Island, and went on that year to a 14-15 overall record with wins over Boston University, Northeastern and Vermont, all postseason teams in either the NCAA or NIT Tournaments. ?Woodward has developed a number of Black Bears who have achieved honors both on and off the basketball court. He has hadsix players earn America East All-Conference honors including Kevin Reed (twice), Joe Campbell, Ernest Turner, Olli Ahvenniemi , Philippe Tchekane Bofia and Mark Socoby. Off the court, Woodward has led the Black Bears to achieve tremendous academic success, with many players receiving America East academic honors (Junior Bernal, David Dubois and Olli Ahvenniemi), and Maine Scholar-Athlete Honors (Junior Bernal, Jordan Cook, Olli Ahvenniemi, David Dubois, Jesse Keith, Chris Markwood, Jason Hight, Tyson Hartnett, and Philippe Tchekane Bofia). In 2005-06, Maine had six players honored as part of the UMaine Scholar-Athlete program, and four others were named to the America East Academic Honor Roll. In 2006-07, the men's basketball team recorded the highest team grade point average in any year since records began being kept in 1988. In addition, the Black Bear basketball program has taken pride in community service with the team taking part in many community service events throughout the year. ?Woodward was named the 20th men's basketball head coach in school history on Tuesday, August 31, 2004. Woodward, with 19 years of Division I coaching experience upon his hiring, spent eight seasons as the top assistant coach with the Black Bears prior to being named head coach. He served as associate head coach during the 2003-04 season. ?Woodward has been part of a Maine coaching staff that has led the Black Bears to appearances in two America East Championships and the lone pair of 20-win seasons in Maine history. ?"We are pleased to name Ted as our next men's basketball head coach," said former Director of Athletics Patrick Nero upon his hiring. "He shares the priorities that we have for our athletic program. He understands the high value we put on education, citizenship and the desire for our student-athletes to excel athletically. Ted joins and strengthens what we feel is already a very strong group of head coaches in our program." ?Woodward, 44, spent eight seasons as John Giannini's top assistant and recruiting coordinator. He is respected as an accomplished recruiter and has played a key role in bringing top level talent to Maine. In addition, he has valuable expertise in the technical and administrative aspects of the program. He has an excellent record as a teacher of basketball, as he has worked with five players in his career who have reached the NBA. ?Before coming to Maine in 1996, Woodward was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for Mark Adams at Central Connecticut State for five seasons. During his tenure, CCSU set a Division I era school record for wins. Prior to his stint at Central, Woodward was a full-time assistant and recruiter at Harvard University during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons, where he also served as Director of Athletic Promotions. ?He began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Connecticut under Jim Calhoun from 1986-89. While he was at UConn, the Huskies achieved one of the greatest rebuilding projects in college basketball, culminating with three straight postseason appearances in four years, including the 1988 NIT Championship. ?Woodward had been recognized by his peers in rivals100hoops.com and TheInsidersHoops.com surveys as one of the top assistants in the country. He also served as a specially invited guest of the Portuguese Basketball Coaches Association at their annual clinic in Lisbon. ?In addition to his work with the basketball team at Maine, he was also head coach of the men's golf team from 1997 to 2001. ?A native of Suffern, N.Y., Woodward received his bachelor of arts degree in economics from Bucknell in 1986 and his master's in education with an emphasis in sports administration from UConn in 1989. He is married to the former Linda Emery and they have two children, Jillian, 14, and Tommy, 11. |
|||||||||||||||
