I mentioned a couple of these moves in the DAILY DIRT last night. Here is the official announcement on John Shulman’s complete new staff at Central Arkansas…

University of Central Arkansas head men’s basketball coach John Shulman has completed his coaching staff for his first season at the helm of the Bears’ program.

Brock Widders will be Associate Head Coach, while Ezra Pinzur, Max Shulman and Ryan Montgomery will round out the staff as assistant coaches.

“I’m thrilled with the staff we have put together at UCA,” said Shulman. “Great people with great energy and work ethic who have dedicated their lives to impacting young people through the game of basketball.”

Widders, an Alma, Ark. native, just completed his seventh year at UCA, serving as recruiting coordinator since the move to the ASUN in 2021, following a stellar playing career at Lyon College. Widders was also the Bears’ acting head coach for the final 16 games of the 2022-23 season.

“Brock’s work ethic and passion to win stood out to me right away,” said Shulman, who was named UCA’s head coach on March 18. “His love for UCA  and connections with Arkansas high school basketball coaches and the AAU circuit in the state will provide us with a great opportunity to keep Arkansas kids at UCA.  

“His future is bright and he will be a head coach extremely soon. His knowledge of UCA and the ASUN will help us make the adjustment to the league and we will rely on Brock through this transition. He has done a great job at UCA signing two ASUN Freshmen of the Year in the past three years. His relationships with current and past players in the program told me all I needed to know about Brock.”

Max Shulman is Coach Shulman’s oldest of three sons and played for his father at Alabama-Huntsville. The younger Shulman set several school marks at UAH and coached under his father last season and helped the Chargers to their fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Regional appearance.

“Max has grown up around the game and was a coach on the court while having a great career at UAH,” said Shulman. “He left UAH the all-time three-point shooter, Top 10 in points, rebounds and steals, and played in five NCAA tourneys and collected four championship rings. Max knows how to win. 

“He did a great job as our offensive coordinator last year leading us to national rankings in three-point shooting, free throw percentage, and Top 10 in Effective Field Goal percentage with a top 30 national ranking in offensive rating, assists per game and assist percentage. He will fill the same capacity at UCA.”

Pinzur also coached under Shulman at UAH for the past three seasons. He has a pair of degrees from Tennessee Tech University, where he played basketball and coached as a graduate assistant.  

“Ezra came to UAH from Tennessee Tech with a work ethic that I have never seen in all my years in coaching,” said Shulman. “Ezra helped us win two rings and go to two NCAA tourneys with a Sweet 16 appearance. Ezra was in charge of everything from camps, budget, scouting, scheduling and developing our defensive philosophy. Our program wouldn’t survive without Ezra.  

“His care and love for the student-athlete and the game is very uncommon. He is dependable and reliable and has worked his tail off for this opportunity. He has no ego and will do whatever is needed to make sure our program is successful. An amazing young man.”

The final piece of the puzzle is Montgomery, who played against Shulman’s UAH teams while at Lee University in the Gulf South Conference. 

“Ryan was a big time player that had a great college career and after a year of playing professionally, he decided he wanted to get into coaching,” said Shulman. “He brings an incredible mind for the game, and he, like the rest of the staff, is used to winning. Ryan is a rising star in the profession with an incredible work ethic, knowledge of the game and the ability to be an elite recruiter with his evaluation skills and the way he deals with people.  

“I have known Ryan since his high school career in Chattanooga and I consider him family. Couldn’t be more excited for us and our program that Ryan will be with us. Our players will value his experience and their relationship with him. Will be an incredible addition as his on court work with individual workouts will elevate our program.”