Posted this as a rumor last week. It’s now official:
Iona College men’s basketball head coach Tim Cluess announced the appointment of Douglas Leichner as assistant coach for the 2014-15 season. Leichner comes to New Rochelle after spending the past nine seasons at the University of Maine.
"Doug brings a wealth of experience on the International recruiting side in addition to his ability to develop post performers," said Cluess. "We’re looking forward to having him come on board."
Cluess also announced Bill O’Keefe will take over as director of basketball operations after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach. Former director of operations Garee Bryant stepped down to take an administrative position outside of college athletics.
Leichner has been a successful head coach for nine seasons with a proven track record at six different levels of basketball, while guiding five programs from hardship to prosperity. He has garnered "Coach of the Year" accolades on ten occasions and has won six championships. Leichner’s record the last two seasons, as a head coach, is (39-2-1) .928 winning percentage with an overall record of (153-84-1) .645 winning percentage. He spent nine of the last 10 years on the bench at the University of Maine including the last five as associate head coach. After a four-year stint as assistant coach from 2004-2008, Leichner was head coach for one year of the UCC Demons Basketball Club in Cork, Ireland.
While at Maine the last two summers, Leichner served as head coach of the Great Britain U20 National Team. Taking over the position in April 2013, the appointment solidified him as a figure in the global basketball market. Leichner made an immediate impact leading Great Britain to an unprecedented championship appearance and a promotion to U20 Division A European Championships. The team was 16-1 under his tenure including an unbeaten preparation phase (9-0). Great Britain was also undefeated in pool play including a victory over the eventual champion Poland. Leichner designed an exciting up-tempo style of play that paid immediate dividends as Great Britain led the tournament in several categories including: scoring, three-point field goal percentage, three-point field goals made, free throw percentage, free throws made and fewest turnovers.
Leichner’s extensive duties in nine total seasons at Maine included recruitment coordinator, game scheduling, scouting of opponents, equipment ordering and purchasing, fundraising activities, practice organization, on-floor coaching as well as academic monitoring, advising and mentoring.
A tireless recruiter with an international base, Maine had eight players on its roster during the 2013-14 season from outside of the United States, including three from Canada, two from Serbia, and one from Germany, Lithuania and Nigeria. During Leichner’s tenure as lead recruiter, Maine also had student-athletes from the Bahamas, Bulgaria, Finland Israel and Scotland. Leichner successfully signed Alasdair Fraser (Scotland) and Noam Laish (Israel) the 32nd ranked and 47th ranked prospects in Europe respectively. He also recruited Till Gloger, the MVP of the German U19 League, as well as Justin Edwards, the No. 8 ranked player in Canada. Edwards was an impact player as he earned America East All-Rookie Team. In 2012-2013, he led the America East in scoring (16.7 ppg) and steals (1.9 spg) en route to being named All-America East Second Team.
In between stints at Maine, Leichner spent the 2008-09 season in Ireland as head coach of the professional club UCC Demons in Cork. The Demons finished 22-1-1 and captured the elusive "Treble" for the first time in Irish basketball history. They were the SuperLeague Southern Conference Champions, the 2009 Irish National Cup Champions as well as the SuperLeague Champions. As a result of his team’s success, Leichner was named "SuperLeague Coach of the Year 2008-09", "Eurobasket.com Ireland Coach of the Year 2008-09" and "Streetball Ireland Coach of the Year 2008-09". He was also responsible for development of the club’s feeder programs and overseeing all the coaches within the club. Leichner also organized clinics, marketed the organization, and was director of the Demons basketball camps.
Prior to Maine, Leichner spent seven seasons as a high school head coach in Florida. He had stops at Osceola High School in Kissimmee and Merritt Island and Episcopal High Schools in Jacksonville.
In 1992, Leichner began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College in Waterbury, CT. The team advanced to the NCAA Junior College Division II national tournament advancing to the Elite Eight. He also served as an assistant coach during the 1996-97 season at NCAA Division II Stonehill.
A 1992 graduate of Central Connecticut State University, Leichner was a four-year letterman, three-year starter and served as captain as a senior. He returned to his alma mater as an administrative assistant for the 1993-94 season and was promoted to assistant coach where he served through the 1995-96 season.
He has worked at the Five-Star Basketball Camp and Adidas ABC All-Star Camp in Europe. He has been published in the Five-Star Basketball Coaches Playbook. Leichner has coached at numerous additional camps. He has coached a touring team that competed in China and a high school all-star team that played in Spain.
Leichner received his Bachelor of Science degree from Central Connecticut State University in 1992 and his master’s in history from Western Connecticut State University in 1995.
An avid traveler, Leichner is conversational in German and Spanish as well as an active member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in addition to having a certified FIBA coaching license.
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