New Siena Men’s Basketball Head Coach Carmen Maciariello ’01 has announced the first four hires to his initial staff. Harley Fuller, Bob Simon, and Antoni Wyche have been appointed assistant coaches, while Matt Miner has been named special assistant to the head coach.
“I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to hire such complete coaches,” said Maciariello. “Not only have they proven what they can do on the court at their respective institutions, but they are all great people. I know how much they both love and respect Siena Basketball, but more importantly they all embrace the Franciscan values all of us at the College hold dear. I am excited to work side-by-side with these great men for the years to come.”
Harley Fuller – Director of Player Development
Fuller enters his second season on the Siena staff after serving as the program’s director of basketball operations this past year. The native of nearby Gloversville, New York will serve as the Saints’ director of player development as part of his role.
“I was thrilled to have the opportunity to elevate Harley into an assistant coaching role,” explained Maciariello. “His innate passion and energy for the game have earned our players respect. He will flourish running our skill development program.”
In Fuller’s first season on staff, Siena achieved a 17-16 overall record including an 11-7 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Saints’ 17 wins tied for the most of any MAAC team, and the squad’s eight-and-a-half game improvement was tied for the 11th best turnaround nationally. Siena finished in a tie for second in the MAAC – placing nine spots higher than their preseason poll prediction – which tied UT Arlington for the largest improvement nationally.
Fuller arrived in Loudonville last summer after spending the 2017-18 season as the director of scouting and analytics at Mount St. Mary’s University. He developed the scouting reports and crunched the numbers for a Mount St. Mary’s team which posted an 18-14 overall record including a tied for second place finish in the Northeast Conference with a 12-6 league mark.
The Mount led the NEC and ranked 19th nationally in threes (10.1), 34th in turnover margin (+2.7), and 49th in three-point field goal percentage (.379). Additionally, the Mountaineers ranked 15th nationally in fewest fouls (15.4), 26th in fewest turnovers (11.0), and 56th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27), while also pacing the NEC in averaging 14.0 assists. Fuller also prepared player development strategies for three current professional players: 2017 NEC Player of the Year Junior Robinson (Spain), Greg Alexander (Portugal), and Chris Wray (NBA G League), as well as former Mount player and current UNLV commit Jonah Antonio.
Fuller previously spent two seasons from 2015-17 as an assistant coach locally with the Albany City Rocks AAU program. He coached the U-17 Orange team, while also serving concurrently as the head coach at nearby Mayfield High School. During his return to the Capital Region, Fuller also ran player development programs both in the area and on Long Island for high school and college players.
After starring locally at Broadalbin-Perth High School, Fuller played his first two seasons of collegiate basketball at nearby SUNY Cobleskill, which he led to the 2008 NJCAA Final Four and Region 3 Championship. He was a two-time All-Region 3 and All-Mountain Valley Conference selection while playing for New York State Hall of Fame Head Coach Kevin McCarthy, and currently holds both the school’s career (439) and single-game (13) assists records.
Fuller played his junior season at Division I Florida International University, before concluding his collegiate career at Molloy College, where he averaged 10 points and six assists as a senior, and holds both the program’s single-season (181) and single-game (13) assists benchmarks.
Fuller played professionally for five seasons in both Germany and Argentina, accumulating more than 1,500 points and over 550 assists. He played with Treis Karden (2010-11), Weissenhorn (2011-12), and Giessen (2014-15) in Germany’s 2. Bundesliga, and with 9 De Julio (2012-14) in Argentina’s TNA league.
Fuller is a 2010 graduate of Molloy College, and is currently pursuing his Master of Science in Sport Management at Mount St. Mary’s. He is the proud father of a three year-old son, Grayson.
Bob Simon – Offensive Coordinator
Simon brings over 25 years of collegiate coaching experience with him to Loudonville, including more than a decade as a Division I associate head coach. The Detroit, Michigan native, who coached alongside Maciariello for three seasons at Fairfield under Ed Cooley, will serve as the Saints’ offensive coordinator.
“Bob is a tireless worker, and I was fortunate to work alongside him at Fairfield,” remarked Maciariello. “He has a tremendous basketball mind, and I will rely heavily on him to help build our offense similar to the success we enjoyed in our previous time working together in which we were able to maximize tremendous guard play.”
Simon has amassed a wealth of highly successful Division I coaching experience, having served on the staffs at Maine (2017-18), Alabama (2015-17), Providence (2011-15), Fairfield (2006-11), and Toledo (2000-06), in addition to a nine-year stint at Division II Wayne State (1991-00).
Simon helped guide Alabama to back-to-back NIT appearances in his two seasons as associate head coach under former NBA coach Avery Johnson. Simon assisted in recruiting the No. 5 ESPN ranked incoming recruiting class in the nation to Alabama in 2017.
Simon helped Cooley and Providence win the BIG EAST Championship in 2014. The Friars reached back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2014 and 2015, and advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals in 2013. During his four seasons in Rhode Island, the final of which he served as associate head coach, Simon was instrumental in securing a pair of top-25 recruiting classes, highlighted by 2016 NBA Draft selections Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil, and Providence’s second-ever 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound standout LaDontae Henton.
Simon first coached in the MAAC under Cooley as the associate head coach at Fairfield, where he served alongside Maciariello on the bench from 2008-11. Simon helped lead the Stags to 92 wins during his tenure, marking the most during a five-year span in program history. Fairfield earned a berth to the CIT in 2010, and achieved a school-record 25 wins, MAAC Regular Season Championship, and NIT Second Round appearance in 2011.
Simon first entered the Division I coaching ranks at Toledo, where he was associate head coach of the Rockets for the final three years of his six-year tenure. Toledo posted three 20-win seasons, and captured a pair of NIT berths (2001, 2004) during his time with the program.
Simon began his collegiate coaching career at Wayne State, which he helped lead to the Division II Final Four in 1993. In his eight seasons with the men’s basketball team, five of which he served as associate head coach, he helped guide the Warriors to four NCAA Tournament appearances and three conference titles. During his final season at the university in 1999-00, Simon shifted over to become the women’s basketball team’s head coach which he led to 13 wins and the program’s second-ever conference tournament berth.
Simon began his coaching career with 10 years in the high school ranks at Thurston High School in Redford, Michigan (1981-87), and Anderson High School in Southgate, Michigan (1987-91).
A 1989 graduate of Eastern Michigan with his bachelor’s degree in manufacturing technology, Simon earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Wayne State in 1997. Simon and his wife, Donna, have a daughter, Bobbie, and a son, Devin.
Antoni Wyche – Recruiting Coordinator/Defensive Coordinator
A native of nearby Ballston Lake, New York, Antoni Wyche joins the Saints after spending the past 10 seasons as an assistant coach at perennial Patriot League power Lehigh, including the last eight as associate head coach. Wyche, who helped guide the Mountain Hawks to three national postseason tournament appearances including a pair of NCAA Tournament berths under the direction of Dr. Brett Reed, will serve as both Siena’s recruiting coordinator and defensive coordinator.
“I’ve known Antoni for over 20 years,” noted Maciariello. “He is a tremendous relationship builder, and will add value to every aspect of our program. Antoni enjoyed a successful playing career both at Notre Dame and overseas, and has a proven track record of both recruiting and developing high-level talent.”
Lehigh amassed a 189-128 (.596) record during Wyche’s tenure, including a 102-62 (.622) mark in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks won a pair of Patriot League Championships to earn NCAA Tournament berths (2010, 2012), highlighted by a school-record 27 wins and an historic First Round upset of Duke in 2012 in which the Mountain Hawks became just the sixth No. 15 seed ever to beat a two-seed. Wyche also helped guide Lehigh to a 2013 College Basketball Invitational appearance, and consecutive Patriot League Championship Game berths in 2016 and 2017.
The Mountain Hawks posted five 20-win seasons during Wyche’s decade in Bethlehem, and achieved winning overall records in all but one season. Lehigh finished in the top-four in the Patriot League Standings in nine of his 10 seasons, capped by a third-place conference finish with a 12-6 league mark and a 20-11 overall record this past winter. The Mountain Hawks also played their best basketball when it mattered the most, achieving a 27-5 (.844) record during the month of February the last four years.
Wyche played a key role in both recruiting and developing some of Lehigh’s all-time greats over the past decade, highlighted by two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, 2013 NBA Draft top-10 pick, and Portland Trail Blazers star C.J. McCollum. Wyche has also worked with several other top student athletes, including two-time Patriot League Player of the Year Tim Kempton and the first four-time All-Patriot League honoree in program history in Kahron Ross.
Wyche enjoyed a decorated professional playing career in which he competed all over the globe, featuring stops in Macedonia, Mexico, Finland, Japan, Qatar, and Jordan. He averaged 21 points while leading Fersped Rabotnicki in Macedonia to a 33-4 record and a Macedonian First Division Championship, amassed 26 points and six assists per game for Club de Mayas in Mexico in 2002, tallied 17 points and four assists per contest for Kouvot in 2002-03 in Finland, and nine points, five rebounds, and a league-leading six assists for Niigata Albirex in Japan in 2006-07 to highlight his stops. Wyche also played in the United States Basketball League for the Adirondack Wildcats (2003) and New Jersey Shorecats (2000), and in the American Basketball Association for the Orange County Gladiators (2009).
A 1999 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Wyche appeared in 108 games for head coach John McLeod on a staff which included future Siena head coach Fran McCaffery. Wyche averaged 7.6 points for his career, highlighted by 11.2 points and 3.1 assists during his senior season in 1998-99 in which he served as a team captain.
Wyche, who starred in high school locally at Bishop Gibbons, and his wife, Jill, are the proud parents of daughters Keilah (11) and Jaya (9).
Matt Miner – Special Assistant to the Head Coach
A Capital Region native, Miner matriculates to Siena after spending the past four seasons on the women’s basketball staff at Division II St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. The Clifton Park, New York native will serve as the special assistant to Maciariello.
“Matt will be heavily relied upon to build our analytic infrastructure,” commented Maciariello. “He is a Shenendehowa alumnus, and excelled both on and off the court at St. Edward’s University.”
Miner helped guide St. Edward’s to new heights during his four years with the program, the final three of which he served as assistant coach. St. Edward’s won 20 games, posted a program-record 13 conference wins, and captured both the Heartland Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships to secure the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2017. Miner assisted in recruiting and developing the program’s first All-American in the NCAA era, as well as four All-Heartland Conference performers. The Hilltoppers amassed 59 wins during his tenure, marking the program’s most over a four-year stretch since officially joining the NCAA ranks.
Miner has also consulted with the Phoenix Suns Analytics Department in their pre-NBA draft selection process. In 2018, he aided the Suns in their selections of No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Elie Okobo, and George King.
Miner graduated cum laude from St. Edward’s in 2014 with his degree in finance, and received an MBA from the Hilltop in 2017. A four-year letterwinner for the men’s basketball team, he appeared in 77 career games tallying 281 points on the strength of 43 three-pointers under the direction of 2012 Capital District Hall of Fame inductee and Watervliet native Andre Cook. Miner was a two-time Heartland Conference President’s Honor Roll selection, and was named to the university’s Dean’s List five times.
Miner is married to St. Edward’s volleyball standout, the former Laura Colley. His younger brother, Joe, is a 2013 graduate of Siena College who was a four-year performer on the men’s soccer team.
