HoopDirt.com has mentioned these moves over the past month. They have now been finalized by Lafayette head coach Fran O’Hanlon.
O’Hanlon announced the return of Matt Blue and the addition of Jimmy Fenerty, as well as the promotion of Pat Doherty as he finalized the program’s staff on Monday.
Doherty, entering his seventh season on College Hill as an assistant coach, has been promoted to Associate Head Coach for the 2015-16 campaign. Serving as O’Hanlon’s top assistant for the past four seasons, Doherty has been instrumental in helping the Leopards to two Patriot League championship game appearances over the last three seasons, including the program’s fourth title a year ago.
“Pat has been an invaluable part of our success here,” O’Hanlon said. “He does so many of the things that promote our program in such a positive way. I am very excited for his expanded role.”
Matt Blue, a former assistant under O’Hanlon during the 2009-10 season, returns to College hill after five seasons as an assistant at Hartford. At Hartford, Blue specialized in shooting technique, resulting in the Hawks leading the America East conference in three-pointers made in four of the last five years. He mentored a pair of 1,000-point scorers while helping the team rack up 57 wins over four years, the second-most all-time in the 31-year history of the program.
“We are excited to welcome back Matt Blue into the Leopard family,” O’Hanlon added. “He brings great energy and enthusiasm, while his ability to relate with the players will be a real asset to our program.”
Prior to his time on College Hill when the Leopards went 19-13 overall and advance to the Patriot League championship game in 2009-10, Blue was an assistant at Division III Susquehanna during the 2008-09 campaign. While in Selinsgrove, his team finished with an overall record of 18-8, good enough for second in the Landmark Conference. Blue graduated from St. Lawrence University with a Bachelor’s degree in English in 2007.
Finally, Jimmy Fenerty joins the Leopards this season after serving as the Graduate Assistant Manager at Temple for the past two seasons. At Temple, he helped to design offseason individual workouts and assisted with recruiting endeavors. Additionally, he organized the team camp and oversaw the daily operations of the program as a whole.
“Jimmy is a terrific addition to our staff,” O’Hanlon said. “He has had the good fortune of growing up around basketball his whole life with his father being one of the finer high school coaches around. In learning under Fran Dunphy, one of our top college coaches, he adds so much to our program with his ability to teach and develop players. His energy and enthusiasm are contagious.”
Fenerty graduated from Dickinson in 2013 with a Bachelor’s in Policy Management. He helped his team to a Centennial Conference Championship in 2013 and a trip to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
http://www.goleopards.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/070615aaa.html
Photo Courtesy Lafayette Athletics
