Medaille College Athletic Director, Amy M. DeKay, introduced Mike Blaine today as the next head coach of the Men’s Basketball program.
"Mike Blaine comes to Medaille with significant coaching experience at quality institutions of higher education," DeKay said. "His playing experience at John Hopkins combined with his coaching experiences at Cornell, UMES, Hampden-Sydney and Radford makes him an ideal candidate at this point in the history of the Medaille program. He has extensive athletic administrative experience from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as well. He enters Medaille as the Mavericks came off a conference playoff appearance last year and past NCAA tournament appearances. His experience and coaching combined with the team’s talent will continue to make them a force in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference."
Blaine comes to Medaille College with over ten years of experience working for NCAA basketball programs. Most recently he was an assistant coach on the Cornell University staff. While at Cornell, Blaine played a large role in player skill development and was able to help in the growth of several All-Ivy League honorees. Blaine was able to develop Eitan Chemerinski, who played sparingly his first two years in the program, graduated as the school’s career field goal percentage leader, while (2011-12) Ivy League Rookie of the Year Shonn Miller earned first-team all-conference accolades in (2012-13) as one of the league’s top defensive players. He also worked with young big man David Onuorah, whose (28) blocked shots, ranks second all-time at Cornell as a freshman.
"Mike is more than ready to lead the program at Medaille College" said Bill Courtney, Cornell’s Head Basketball coach. "His enthusiasm and positive energy will be infectious with his players and throughout the Medaille community. He is an excellent teacher and a terrific role model."
Prior to working at Cornell, Blaine spent the previous two seasons assisting the turnaround of the Maryland-Eastern Shore program. UMES won (11) games and went (8-8) in the MEAC conference to finish fifth in 2010-11, nearly tripling the program’s win total from the season before Blaine arrived. Junior Hillary Haley led the team in scoring (12.4 ppg) and was named to the all-tournament team in the backcourt. Blaine’s responsibilities included working with the backcourt players, as well as scouting and recruiting.4085
Prior to Blaine’s stint at UMES, he spent one season at both Radford (2006-07) and Hampden-Sydney College (2007-08). He also worked as a Director of Basketball Operations at Army (2004-06) and James Madison (2003-04), leading the administrative efforts, as well as film exchange, academic progress of the players and team travel.
A 2003 graduate of Johns Hopkins with a degree in political science and sociology, Blaine was a standout for the Blue Jays. He currently ranks among the school’s top 20 players in field goal percentage (seventh, .572), blocked shots (13th, 50) and offensive rebounds (17th, 105). He was part of teams that compiled (67) career victories, including a win over Navy that served as Johns Hopkins’ first-ever over a Division I opponent. Blaine received the Robert H. Scott Award, given to the senior student-athlete who best demonstrates excellence in athletics, scholarship and extracurricular activities.
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