Le Moyne College Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Matt Bassett announced this morning the hiring of Patrick Beilein as the eighth head men’s basketball coach in program history. Beilein replaces Steve Evans, who was promoted to Associate Director of Athletics last month after a 15-year tenure in charge of the Dolphins.
Beilein, the son of former Le Moyne head coach (1983-92) and current University of Michigan head coach John Beilein, spent this past season as the player development coach for the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz.
“Certainly Patrick is accustomed to having his recognizable name and pedigree precede him, but what was impressive was the level of pride and gratitude he has for all that that has meant in his life,” said Bassett. “He does not seem to shy away from it in any way. Equally as impressive was how quickly he made you realize he was his own guy, with a passion to coach and mentor this generation of athlete, and with a highly-confident vision for how our basketball program would proceed under his leadership.”
“I am very excited about this opportunity to become the next head men’s basketball coach at Le Moyne College,” said Beilein. “In the first nine years of my childhood, the Le Moyne basketball program was basically part of my family’s everyday life. Now, to return as the head coach 23 years later, is a dream come true.”
“Anytime you secure new leadership for an athletic program, it comes with a built-in anticipation of reenergizing the program,” Bassett added. “In this case, Patrick offered an inspiring case for how to pursue ‘winning now’, but he did so with a clear articulation of how that strategy would be integrated with our college’s Catholic, Jesuit mission and aligned with our department’s commitment to a deeply shared internal culture. He spoke as if he had been here in our building and on our campus for a few years – not a few days.”
“I look forward to meeting the team, the athletic staff, the faculty and many of our outstanding alums in the weeks and months ahead,” Beilein added. ” I will get started immediately in my efforts to build on the proud traditions and successes of all of the former Le Moyne players and coaches.”
Before accepting his position with the Jazz, Beilein was the head men’s basketball coach at Division II West Virginia Wesleyan College for two seasons, during which time he guided the Bobcats to a record of 32-27. In his first season in Buckhannon, Beilein led the Bobcats to a 12-15 record and a berth in the last West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) Championship. Senior center Kelsey Williams was named to the WVIAC First Team and the Daktronics All-Atlantic Region Second Team after ranking third in the league in scoring (21.5) and first in rebounds (10.9), while recording 17 double-doubles, the second-most in Division II. Guard Noah Cottrill was named to the WVIAC All-Freshman team after posing 12.9 points per game.
The following year, Beilein guided the Bobcats to a 20-12 record, including a mark of 14-8 (tied for third) in Mountain East Conference action, and a berth into the quarterfinals of the inaugural Mountain East Conference Championship. The Bobcats finished the season ranked ninth in the Atlantic Region rankings, one spot out of being selected to the NCAA Championship. The Bobcats led the high-scoring Mountain East Conference in scoring defense (70.6), three-point field goal defense (.327) and three-point field goal percentage (.409), which also led the Atlantic Region and ranked sixth nationally. Senior T.J. Thompson was named to the inaugural Mountain East Conference All-Conference First Team after leading the league with 93 three-pointers and ranking third with a percentage of .445 from long-range. Classmate Brett Ervin was second in the conference with 92 made three-pointers and seventh in percentage at .416.
Prior to his time at West Virginia Wesleyan, he spent one season as the director of basketball operations at Bradley University. With the Braves, he was responsible for developing, managing and implementing the team’s budget; coordinating travel logistics and served as the liaison to the Facilities, Compliance, Student-Success and Admissions Departments. Additionally, he supervised the recruitment, hiring, scheduling and evaluation of student managers and graduate assistants.
He spent the 2010-11 season at Dartmouth College, where he was an assistant to head coach Paul Cormier, the father of former Dolphin guard James Cormier ’12. Beilein was a national recruiter with the Big Green and developed and prepared game plans and scouting reports. He was also responsible for creating and conducting individual player workouts and player development.
Beilein got his start in coaching with two seasons as a graduate assistant at Michigan. He supervised daily office operations, prepared scouting reports for coaches and logged, recorded and submitted countable athletically-related activities. In his first year with the program, the Wolverines were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years and knocked off seventh-seeded Clemson in the first round.
A 2006 graduate of West Virginia University, Beilein earned a Bachelor of Arts in Athletic Coaching Education. As a student-athlete at West Virginia, Beilein appeared in 128 games for his father from 2002 to 2006. He tallied 1,001 career points and ranked second on the program’s all-time list in three-pointers made with 242 at the time of his graduation. As a senior co-captain, Beilein was fourth on the team in points (263), third in steals (36) and assists (73) and fifth in rebounds (71) and helped the Mountaineers to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Atlanta Regional Semifinal (Sweet 16). As a junior, West Virginia advanced to the NCAA Tournament Albuquerque Regional Final (Elite 8), where Beilein was named to the All-Tournament Team. In 2004, the Mountaineers advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals.
Following graduation, Beilein played in the 2006 NBA Summer League for the Houston Rockets. He then went overseas for two seasons and played for Landstede Zwolle in Holland and then UCD Marian in the Ireland SuperLeague.
http://lemoynedolphins.com/news/2015/6/5/mbbPatrickBeileinAnnouncement.aspx
Photo Courtesy LeMoyne Athletics
