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Thanks to great sources who got HoopDirt.com out in front of this one last week (DII DIRT: Mansfield Hires Former NBA Assistant as New Head Coach). It has now been made official – Pat Zipfel, most recently an advanced scout with the NBA Chicago Bulls, has been named the Interim Head Coach of the Mansfield University men’s basketball program.
The announcement was made today by Director of Athletics Deb Solfaro.
“It is with a great deal of excitement that we welcome Pat Zipfel to Mansfield University as the Interim Head Coach of men’s basketball,” Solfaro said. “I am confident he will bring a level of expertise and professionalism that will greatly benefit the young men in the basketball program. We welcome Pat with open arms and look forward to working with him.”
Zipfel has served as an assistant coach in the NBA for 15 years including the last two years with the Chicago Bulls as the NBA Advance Scout responsible for opponent preparation along with game plan preparation and strategy.
Prior to his stint with the Bulls, Zipfel spent four seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the same capacity. He also was a member of the coaching staff for the LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers.
Zipfel was the head coach of the New Jersey Squires of the ABA during the 2003-04 season leading the team to the ABA quarterfinals and has extensive experience working with the Dominican Republic National Team under John Calipari and Orlando Antigua.
In 2011 Zipfel was an assistant serving as an advance scout for Mike Fratello and the Ukrainian National Team.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to get back to my roots and return to Pennsylvania to teach and coach college basketball,” Zipfel said. “This is a program with a long and distinguished history that plays in a very competitive and respected conference and I’m pleased to be part of it.”
Zipfel started his coaching career at the collegiate level serving as an assistant coach for The Citadel. He was the head coach at Bucks County Community College for the 1995-96 season before becoming the head men’s basketball coach as well as Director of Athletics at Centenary College in New Jersey from 1996-1999. While at Centenary he guided the Cyclones to their first post season berth advancing to the quarterfinals of the ECAC Division II Championship Tournament. He still holds the school record for career wins.
Zipfel returned to Bucks County Community College as head coach prior to starting his NBA career.
Zipfel played point guard as an undergraduate at Cabrini College before graduating in 1989 with a degree in English/Communications.
http://gomounties.com/news/2015/10/26/MBB_1026150320.aspx
Photo Courtesy Mansfield Athletics
