Sam Casey has been named head coach of the Finlandia University men’s basketball team. 

Casey spent the last year as head coach of De La Salle Jerusalem in the Palestinian Basketball Association (PBBA).  He helped to develop Mohamed Qag, who was the PBBA Rookie of the Year.

“I feel fortunate to be able to announce Sam Casey as the next head men’s basketball coach at Finlandia University,” said athletic director Curtis Wittenberg.  “Sam brings experiences from all over the world, which will help in the growth of these young men in this program as well as the University as a whole.”
Casey got his start as the Compliance Assistant at the University of North Texas.  In addition he was a sports supervisor for the Recreation Sports Department at UNT.

“I’m very thankful to Athletic Director Curtis Wittenberg and President Phillip Johnson for this opportunity,” said Casey.  “I’m excited about the vision and high expectations that Curtis and the school has for the program.  I think that Hancock is a jewel in the state of Michigan.  It’s a   Beautiful place to live, go to school and for basketball players to mature and grow.”

Casey spent two years as head coach of men’s basketball at San Antonio College (Texas).  He took over a program that had just one returning player and increased the schedule from 16 to 30 games in his second year.  Casey had four academic all-conference and four all-conference selections.

“President Johnson has a desire for a comprehensive student experience,” said Casey.  “Along with that, we’re going to have a broad focus on developing the players outside of basketball.  Coach O’Donnell did a good job of setting a foundation for me.  We have a young team with no seniors but we have a lot of experience.   I’m excited to see where we can take this program, both on and off the court.”

Casey coached in the KPA Pro Summer League (Las Vegas, Nev.) for two years.  In 2019, he was the head coach of KPA Asia which won the championship.  In addition, Casey has been a coach and director at camps in Germany, Israel, Switzerland and Texas.

Casey grew up all around the world as his father was in the military.  He has a B.S. in Recreation and Leisure Studies and a MBA in Recreation, Event and Sports Management, both from North Texas.  Casey is finishing a PhD. in Performance Psychology from Grand Canyon.

https://fulions.com/news/2019/10/10/casey-to-take-charge-of-finlandia-mens-basketball.aspx