Bringing more than 50 years of coaching experience combined, a plethora of NCAA Tournament appearances and a litany of recruits who turned into professional players, the FGCU men’s basketball team has added Tom Abatemarco and Senque Carey as assistant coaches, Eagles’ head coach Joe Dooley announced.
Bringing 41 years of collegiate coaching experience on his own, Abatemarco (pronounced Ah-bait-ah-Marco) joins one of the quickly-ascending mid-major programs in the nation. An assistant coach at Tulsa last year, Abatemarco’s experience includes time on both the collegiate and professional levels, covering nine NCAA Tournament appearances, five Elite Eight trips and an NCAA Championship.
Abatemarco was an assistant coach at NC State from 1982-86, helping lead the program to one of the biggest upsets in tournament history when it won the NCAA Championship in 1983 under the late-Jim Valvano. During his tenure with the Wolfpack, he recruited and signed 5-7 sensation Spud Webb, who is the shortest player to ever win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and one of the three smallest players in the NBA since he made his debut in 1985.
Both Abatemarco and Carey were assistant coaches at Loyola Marymount University outside Los Angeles during the 2013-14 season.
“Tom is one of the most experienced coaches in the country,” said Dooley, who will be entering his third season at the helm of FGCU. “He’s recruited and coached so many extremely talented players during his career. Tom will be a great addition to our staff and someone who our players will learn a lot from.”
Carey (first name pronounced Sen-CUE) most recently spent the 2014-15 season with the University of Hawai’i as an assistant coach, helping lead the Rainbow Warriors to a 22-13 record and berth in the Big West Conference Tournament Championship. A renowned recruiter, Carey has also spent time at Fresno State, Portland State and his alma mater, New Mexico.
Among several NBA players that Carey has recruited and developed is Paul George, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and eventual NBA All Star with the Indiana Pacers. George was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2013, in addition to being an All-NBA Third Team selection and All-Defensive Second Team member the same year.
Dooley was an assistant coach at New Mexico from 1999-02. Carey, who began his playing career at Washington in 1999, transferred to New Mexico in 2000-01 and played his junior season with the Lobos in 2001-02 with Dooley on the sidelines.
“Senque is a great addition for us,” added Dooley. “He’s recruited a number of professional players. There’s also a familiarity as I recruited him and he played for us at New Mexico. He’ll also be a good fit and I’m looking forward to him joining the program.”
Abatemarco was instrumental in recruiting and coaching a number of other collegiate stars who went on to professional careers, including Nate McMillan, Vinny Del Negro and Chucky Brown of NC State; Maryland’s Buck Williams and Adrian Branch; Kevin Williams of St. John’s; Dell Curry of Virginia Tech (father of Steph Curry) and Lamar’s Adrian Caldwell.
Prior to his time at Tulsa and LMU, Abatemarco spent three years on the coaching staff at the University of Colorado, his second stint with the Buffaloes. In three seasons on Tad Boyle’s staff, the Buffaloes posted back-to-back 24-win seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12, and a 21-win season in 2012-13. In the 2011-12 campaign, Abatemarco helped Colorado earn its first NCAA Tournament appearance in nine years, upsetting No. 6 UNLV in the Second Round.
Before arriving in Boulder, Abatemarco – who has also made three NIT appearances in his coaching career – served a brief stint with the Sacramento Kings as a player personnel and scouting coach. In addition, he spent seven years as a broadcaster with the Kings. Abatemarco also served as an assistant coach for the Reno Bighorns of the NBDL during its inaugural 2008-09 season.
“I am so excited to come and work with Joe. I’ve known Joe for many years and he did a tremendous job at Kansas and he’s done a great job here at FGCU,” said Abatemarco, who graduated from Dowling College in 1974 with a degree in Education. “This is a great opportunity to help build FGCU into a mid-major powerhouse. As a staff we’re excited about the team that is coming back and the players coming in. I’m just so happy to be a part of this basketball family.”
Abatemarco served as an assistant coach in the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs from 2003-09. In six years with the Monarchs, he guided the team to the 2003 and 2004 WNBA Western Conference Finals, before winning a conference championship in 2005. The Monarchs reached the WNBA Finals again in 2006, falling in the championship series.
In addition to his head coaching stints at Lamar (1986-88), Drake (1988-90) and Sacramento State (1996-00), Abatemarco’s college coaching experience also includes time at Utah (2004-05) under the late-Rick Majerus and Rutgers (1994-97). He spent three seasons at CU under Jim Harrington from 1991-94.
He also coached at Virginia Tech (1981-82), at Maryland under Lefty Driesell (1979-81), under Lou Carnesecca at St. John’s (1978-79), Davidson (1977-78), Iona (1975-77) and the New York Institute of Technology (1974-75).
As for Carey, shortly after his playing career ended in 2002 he began his coaching career at New Mexico as an undergraduate assistant for the 2003-04 season. He then served as an assistant at Portland State in 2004-05 before his coaching career took off during his five-year stint at Fresno State.
While with the Bulldogs from 2005-10, Carey recruited and coached – in addition to George – 2007 NBA Second Round pick Dominic McGuire and 2010 WAC (Western Athletic Conference) Freshman of the Year Greg Smith, who spent three seasons with the Houston Rockets from 2011-14 before spending last year with the Dallas Mavericks. Additionally, Carey has produced a plethora of other players who have enjoyed successful professional careers overseas.
Beyond his successful recruiting and coaching at Fresno State – Carey oversaw six different WAC all-team selections in five years – he helped guide a dramatic academic turnaround which produced the largest Academic Progress Rate (APR) improvement in the country. Additionally, the program had its first Academic All-District honoree, six WAC All-Academic Team selections and the graduation of 10 men’s basketball student-athletes from December 2007 to May 2009, the most during such a span in program history.
“I’m so happy to be back with Coach Dooley and be a part of Dunk City,” stated Carey, who graduated from New Mexico in 2004 with a degree in communication. “It’s a blessing that we have a campus administration and community that is so excited about our program and these fine student-athletes. It’s a fun time to be an Eagle, and I’m excited to call FGCU home.”
Following his time with Fresno State, Carey started his own business in 2010 – The Basketball Experience, a coaching program that provided training for players at all levels through camps, clinics, private workouts and tournaments. During that same time from 2010-13 he also served as the head coach of the Menlo-Atherton High School boys’ basketball team in Menlo Park, Calif.
Carey returned to collegiate coaching at LMU, coaching a WCC (West Coast Conference) First Team selection and two WCC All-Freshman Team members alongside Abatemarco.
A former all-conference freshman selection himself, Carey was a Pac-10 All-Freshman Team member for Washington in 1999, playing all 28 games with 17 starts and averaging 8.7 points and 3.1 rebounds with 94 assists. After transferring to New Mexico and serving as the team’s starting point guard in 2001-02, Carey suffered a career-ending injury early in his senior season in 2002-03.
http://www.fgcuathletics.com/news/2015/7/14/MBB_0714155825.aspx
Photo Courtesy FGCU Athletics
