Two former NBA players will be among the three assistant coaches for new Eastern Kentucky Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dan McHale.
Michael Bradley, the No. 17 pick by Toronto in the 2001 NBA Draft, played five seasons in the NBA and three overseas. Reece Gaines, the No. 15 pick in the 2003 draft by Orlando, played three seasons in the NBA and four more overseas.
Those two will be joined on McHale’s inaugural staff by Doug Davenport, who has served the last three seasons as the director of video operations at the University of Louisville.
“I’m very excited to have Michael, Reece and Doug join my first staff at Eastern Kentucky,” McHale said. “We may be the only program in the nation with two first round NBA draft picks on our staff. To be able to attract quality young coaches like this speaks volumes to where this University and this program stands, and where we are going to take it in the future.”
Bradley compiled a 93-12 record as the head boys’ basketball coach Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati from 2010-14. After leading the 2012 team to a 26-1 record and the first Ohio State Championship in program history, Bradley earned Associated Press State Coach of the Year honors.
“Michael brings a wide range of experiences to our program,” McHale said. “He’s an excellent teacher of the game, a great evaluator of talent and an outstanding person.”
Bradley has spent the past year participating in the NBA Assistant Coaches Program. He was chosen as one of eight former NBA players to coach at the Portsmouth Invitational in April, 2014. He was invited to the NBA Leadership Development Program for aspiring coaches, scouts and front office personnel in July.
The Worcester, Massachusetts native has owned and operated several businesses and a charitable foundation. From 2008 to 2010, he operated Bradley Sports Management, serving as a certified NBA and FIBA player representative.
During his NBA playing career, Bradley played for the Toronto Raptors, the Atlanta Hawks, the Orlando Magic, the Sacramento Kings and the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 5.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while playing in 67 games for Toronto during the 2002-03 season.
Bradley played two seasons at the University of Kentucky (1997-99) before concluding his collegiate career at Villanova University. As a freshman at UK, he saw action in 32 games for the 1997-98 National Championship team. As a sophomore he broke the school single season record for field goal percentage, hitting on 65.7 percent of his shots. He capped his collegiate career by leading Villanova in scoring (20.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg) on his way to earning All-Big East and All-America honors in 2001.
Bradley earned a bachelor’s of arts degree from Villanova in 2005.
After concluding his seven-year professional career, Gaines stepped into coaching as an assistant at Bellarmine University. Over the last three seasons, he helped the Knights to three straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 and a Final Four trip. This past season, Bellarmine went 31-4, captured the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title and advanced to the national semifinals.
“Reece is a fantastic addition to our staff,” McHale said. “The combination of his stellar playing career and his coaching experience is going to be a real asset to our program. Reece has first-hand experience playing the style that I prefer and his ability to teach that is going to be a big help to our players.”
Gaines had a standout playing career at the University of Louisville. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard ended his career ranked fourth on UofL’s all-time scoring list with 1,945 points. As a senior he averaged 17.9 points and five assists per game on his way to earning All-America honors from the Sporting News, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press.
The Madison, Wisconsin native became just the 12th freshman to start his first game during the 30-year tenure of Louisville Head Coach Denny Crum. He led the team in assists (3.3 apg), was second in scoring (13.9 ppg) and led Conference USA in three-point shooting (42.6 percent) as a sophomore. Gaines played is final two seasons at Louisville under head coach Rick Pitino. He earned all-conference honors after leading the team in scoring (21.0 ppg) as a junior.
After being drafted by the Orlando Magic, Gaines also played for the Houston Rockets and the Milwaukee Bucks during his NBA career. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at Louisville in 2003.
While serving as the director of video operations, Davenport helped Louisville to an NCAA Championship, an Elite 8 appearance, a Sweet 16 trip, two conference regular season titles and two conference tournament championships. The 2012-13 UofL team went 35-5, won the Big East regular season and tournament championships and a NCAA title. He was responsible for advance scouting video of opponents and evaluation video for Louisville players.
“Opponent scouting has become a huge asset to college basketball programs and few in the country are better than Doug Davenport,” said McHale. “Doug has worked in three programs with tremendous winning traditions. He’ll bring that winning attitude to our program.”
Davenport broke into college coaching in 2010 at Xavier University. In two seasons as a program assistant for the Musketeers, he helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament twice and win the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2010-11. His primary responsibilities at Xavier was coordinating the program’s video operations, including film breakdown, film exchange and evaluation for players. He also assisted with advance scouting, on-campus recruiting and the team’s academics.
Davenport played four seasons for his father Scott Davenport at Bellarmine University. The Knights advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament Sweet 16 his junior season. As a senior in 2010, he helped Bellarmine capture the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Championship and make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Over the last seven seasons as a coach and a player, Davenport’s teams have played in seven NCAA Tournaments.
The Louisville native was a four-time Academic All-Conference selection. He earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in political science at Bellarmine in 2010. Davenport completed a master’s of education – sport management degree at Xavier in 2012.
http://www.ekusports.com/news/2015/4/22/MBBALL_0422154352.aspx
Photo Courtesy EKU Athletics
