HoopDirt.com has been following the Butler CC (KS) search closely for the past few weeks. Last week, we reported that former UWGB assistant Brian Barone had been offered the job. It has now been made official – Barone has been named the new men’s head basketball coach at BCC.
Barone comes to the Grizzlies after serving the last five seasons as the top assistant on the Wisconsin-Green Bay staff under current Bradley head coach Brian Wardle.
“I’m extremely excited to lead the program at Butler and I thank President Krull and Athletic Director Todd Carter for this opportunity,” said Barone. “I look forward to working closely with them in taking this program to the next level. Butler has a strong tradition of success and I plan to build on its history and the work of the former coaches and teams.”
“We are excited to have a coach of Barone’s stature to lead our men’s basketball program and continue to the success we experienced under Mike Bargen,” Athletic Director Todd Carter said. “We were looking for a coach who is known nationally and has a proven track record of success. We also wanted a coach with integrity and who will do a fine job of mentoring the young men in our program. We believe we have found all of that in Brian Barone.”
Barone will take over a Butler program that was 29-4 last year, winning the Jayhawk West Conference championship and climbing as high as No. 4 in the national rankings. The Grizzlies earned an at-large bid in the NJCAA National Tournament for the second time in the past six years.
While Butler was experiencing success, Barone was as well. As the associate head coach at Wisconsin-GreenBay, Barone helped the Phoenix to back-to-back NIT appearances by winning 24 games in each of the past two seasons, including a Horizon League regular-season championship in 2014. In five seasons with Barone on staff, Wisconsin-Green Bay went 95-65 overall and complied a .810 home winning percentage (60-14).
Prior to Wisconsin-Green Bay, Barone spent two seasons at Indiana as the Hoosiers’ director of basketball operations/video coordinator, working under his college head coach Tom Crean. He went to Indiana in 2008 after serving the 2007-08 season as the coordinator of basketball operations and video coordinator at Marquette.
Barone also spent four seasons (2003-2007) as an assistant coach at Illinois State, helping the Redbirds resurrect its program that had just eight wins prior to his arrival.
Barone has previous experience in the NJCAA, having spent one season (2002-03) as an assistant at Garden City (Kan.) Community College and one year (2001-02) as an assistant at Central Florida. There, he helped guide the Patriots to an overall record of 21-11, a Mid-Florida Conference Tournament Championship and an appearance in the NJCAA Region VII semifinals.
Playing for his father, Tony Sr., Barone played his first two collegiate seasons at Texas A&M University, where he was a honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference selection as a sophomore (1997-98). As the team’s point guard, Barone finished among the league’s top five in assists and steals and received GTE Big 12 Academic All-Conference accolades as well.
He transferred to Marquette for his final two campaigns, making his debut in 1999-00 after sitting out one season as a transfer. Barone served as team captain during his tenure and was also named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team. He was a collegiate teammate of former Butler coach Mike Bargen.
Barone earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Marquette in 2000 and completed his master’s work at MU in the same field in 2002.
Basketball runs in Barone’s family. His father, Tony Sr., played collegiately at Duke and was the head coach at Creighton, Texas A&M and the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. His brother, Tony, Jr., has been a college assistant coach and works as a scout in the NBA.
https://butlercc.prestosports.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/201506193b3leq
Photo Courtesy Butler CC Athetics
