Saint Michael’s College men’s basketball head coach Michael Harding announced his resignation on Monday due to the medical condition of his infant son, who was born prematurely more than a year ago. Josh Meyer, who recently completed his second season as the Purple Knights’ full-time assistant coach, has been promoted to become the 22nd head coach in program history. Meyer provides 11 years as an assistant coach at all three divisions. Part-time assistant coach Michael Larkin has been promoted to the full-time assistant coach position.
"My heart hurts to leave the program at this time," said Harding, who notched 32 victories during his tenure. "I’m extremely optimistic that the crop we have planted at Saint Michael’s is about to harvest. I’ve been lucky to work with a talented group of young coaches, a committed group of young men, and an administration that has supported our program. This combination places Saint Michael’s men’s basketball in a position to take a leap forward in 2013-14. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to be a Purple Knight since 2010, and I look forward to seeing the program continue to grow and compete for championships in the coming years."
Harding’s son was born prematurely on Dec. 3, 2011, and recently underwent one of multiple neurosurgeries he has endured since birth. Harding and his family will relocate to the Boston area to work more closely with the neurosurgical team at Boston Children’s Hospital. In Harding’s three seasons at the helm, the Purple Knights employed one of the stingiest defenses in the region while making a run to the quarterfinal round of the 2011 Northeast-10 Conference Championship.
"Our hearts go out to Michael and his family at this difficult time," said Director of Athletics Geri Knortz. "Coach Harding has done an exceptional job of team development and transformation of the program in his three years at the College. His time at Saint Michael’s College has been cut short, and we are sorry he won’t be able to fully realize the goals he set for himself and the basketball program. We will miss Michael, and thank him for all of his efforts in establishing a solid base from which the team will build upon moving forward."
During Harding’s 80-game tenure, the Purple and Gold held opponents to 70 points or less 55 times, matching its total from the prior 209 contests. Saint Michael’s began the 2012-13 season sporting one of the top scoring defenses in Division II, ultimately placing 31st entering this week while holding foes to the 33rd-lowest field goal percentage. A disciplined defensive squad, the Purple Knights committed the second-fewest fouls in the nation and stood 29th in blocks.
Saint Michael’s posted an 8-18 record this winter, as injuries disrupted a promising start. A highlight was the Purple Knights downing the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, which was receiving national votes, in November before 10 setbacks came by 10 points or fewer. Saint Michael’s fell by three points or less against three NCAA Tournament qualifiers, including 70-68 on Jan. 6 at Franklin Pierce University, one of eight No. 1 seeds in the national tournament.
The Purple Knights missed out on a postseason berth in 2011-12 by the narrowest of margins, losing a tie-breaker for the final spot after the NE-10 reduced its field by two teams from years past, despite a season in which they swept perennial power Bentley University for the first time since 2000-01, won by 14 points at Adelphi University – the eventual NE-10 regular-season co-champ and defending league tournament winner – and knocked off Stonehill College in February, handing the Skyhawks their final loss prior to falling in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament.
During the 2010-11 season, Harding’s first as a college head coach, he led Saint Michael’s to the NE-10 Championship for the first time since 2007, and earned a road win in the first round of the play-offs. The team compiled 13 victories, including a win at the top-ranked team in the region, Bentley. That success came one season after completing a stint as the associate head coach at NE-10 counterpart Stonehill. Harding helped the Skyhawks go 106-47 in five seasons, earning two NE-10 Championship titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four berth in 2006.
Meyer, who will enter his first year as a college head coach, has an impressive academic resume that has tied into his extensive coaching experience. A New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) All-Academic honoree during his playing career at Wesleyan University, Meyer went on to earn a master’s degree from Harvard University, where he assisted an Ivy League program headed by Tommy Amaker during two seasons. Meyer completed the University’s Urban Teacher Education Program in 2008. Between 2004-05 and 2006-07, he worked at Stonehill with Harding, serving as an assistant coach and helping recruit many student-athletes that guided the Skyhawks to their 2006 Final Four run.
"I would like to thank President John Neuhauser, Director of Athletics Geri Knortz and the entire Saint Michael’s College community for the opportunity to become the head men’s basketball coach," said Meyer. "Saint Michael’s is a wonderful educational environment, and the College has a strong athletic and basketball tradition that I am honored to be a part of. I have greatly enjoyed my experience at the College, and I am excited to be able to continue to provide our outstanding group of student-athletes with important learning experiences through sport. I look forward to building a basketball program that is successful in all areas."
Prior to Stonehill, Meyer gained a multitude of experience as the assistant coach at Connecticut College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and New York University, and was a graduate assistant at Fairfield University. His summer camp credentials include stints at the University of Connecticut, Duke University and the University of North Carolina.
"We are thrilled to promote Josh Meyer to the head coach position," said Knortz. "Josh brings top-notch academic credentials, a high basketball IQ, and impeccable integrity and character. He has been integral to the recruitment of talented student-athletes to the program, and the ‘co-architect’ of the plan to build the current team culture and strategy. We are very confident Josh is the right person to keep the program intact, and to continue with the plan that has the team positioned to be very successful in the coming years."
Larkin’s promotion comes after he joined the coaching staff in 2012-13, which followed a stint as a graduate intern the prior two school years at Rutgers University at Newark. In that role, he helped the Scarlet Raiders earn two postseason berths. During the 2009-10 school year, Larkin was an assistant coach at Bard (N.Y.) College. After completing his playing career at Albright (Pa.) College and graduating in 2009, he earned his master’s degree from Rutgers-Newark in 2012.
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