Williams athletic director Harry Sheehy announced today that Mike Maker, a 17-year assistant coach at the Division I level has been named head coach of the Ephs' men's basketball team.
Sheehy, the program's all-time leader in wins, is confident that he and his committee have made the right decision. "I'm thrilled that Mike Maker will be the next basketball coach at Williams," said Sheehy. "He brings great basketball knowledge, work ethic, and enthusiasm to the position. He's worked with great coaches in some of the best programs in the country.
“Mike is a great match for Williams. He'll be a great addition to the community, athletic department, and the Williams basketball family.”
Maker replaces Williams alum Dave Paulsen who left in May to become the head coach at Bucknell.
&&g-boxl&&"I'm humbled and excited to be getting what I consider the opportunity of a lifetime," Maker said. "Williams has a great athletic tradition and is known around the world for its academics. I'm really looking forward to being around players who crave excellence in every area of their lives."
Maker, who was most recently at Creighton, has New England roots and intends to head east as soon as possible. "We're a little bit behind in the recruiting process so I need to get right after it and get out to as many camps as soon as I can, but first I need to talk to the players at Creighton and Williams."
Maker comes to Williams from a year as an assistant coach at Creighton after spending two years at West Virginia (2005-07) as an assistant to John Beilein and three years at Samford (2002-05). His longest tenure was an 11-year run as an associate coach at Dartmouth (1991-2002).
At West Virginia Maker assisted Beilin in implementing the two guard offense, a derivative of the Princeton offense and helped the Mountaineers win the 2007 NIT and advance to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. While Maker was coaching at Samford under Jimmy Tillette, the Bulldogs ranked second nationally in 3-point field goals and seventh in field goal percentage in 2004-05 and they also ran a version of the Princeton offense.
Maker is looking forward to August when the Ephs will embark on a pre-planned two-week trip to Italy with the players who are returning from last year's roster. The Ephs return three starters from last year's 17-8 team in senior co-captain Kevin Snyder a guard, junior center Joe Geoghegan, and junior swingman Blake Schultz.