HEAD COACH HOWARD MOORE

Transcription

1 UIC Basketball HEAD COACH HOWARD MOORE Rarely are things characterized as a perfect fit. Howard Moore and the UIC men s basketball program may be one of the glaring exceptions. The 10th head coach in the history of the program, Moore recently wrapped up his first season re-building the Flames. The 38-year-old grew up on the west side of Chicago, mere blocks from the UIC campus, and attended Taft High School on the northwest side of the city. In his five previous collegiate assistant coaching stops, Moore utilized the Windy City as his main pipeline for recruiting talent. At his introductory press conference, with his family watching on, Moore gave a passionate, emotional and energetic speech regarding his pride for the UIC job, his happiness about being back in Chicago and his vision of championship success for the program s future. That future began immediately. Moore wasn t hired until late August 2010, an uncharacteristic time for a basketball coach to take over a program. He wasn t afforded the opportunity to participate in individual workouts during the spring. The primary recruiting window had come and gone. The schedule was already completed. But Moore quickly assembled an experienced staff, kept all 17 players on the roster from the previous season, and embarked on his first campaign, which was just over two months away. On the court, the Flames showed their potential, and in other instances, their inexperience. UIC went 4-3 in November, the most for a UIC team in the opening month of the season since the campaign. Included in that stretch was a win over Rhode Island, who advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Final Four the previous season. Three-of the Flames first four losses in the month of December were by just two points, and the first two setbacks in the Horizon League play came by a combined four points. While it was becoming evident that more talented, experienced teams were finding ways to outlast UIC down the stretch of games, on one special afternoon in mid-december, UIC enjoyed a monumental day in its program s history. With more than 13,000 fans in attendance at the United Center in Chicago, most of which were donned in orange and blue, UIC shocked 12th ranked Illinois, The victory marked UIC s first over the Fighting Illini since the season, and tied for the Flames biggest win over a ranked opponent in the program s history. The Flames struggled in Horizon League play, finishing with a 2-16 record, and completed the season with a 7-24 mark overall. However, those closely following the league made repeated comments about how hard UIC played even despite the results, and about how bright the future was. The foundation had been laid. Already, Moore has made his loyalty to the city of Chicago well-known. Of his first eight signed recruits, four played in the Chicago Public League. He has also been visible in the city, making numerous speaking engagements. In December, Moore was presented the Ricky Byrdsong Award at the Union Club of Chicago. The award annually recognizes men who are good fathers, have reached out and made a difference in the lives of youth and demonstrated a spiritual dimension to their lives. Moore came to UIC after spending the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin, his alma mater, under head coach Bo Ryan. Moore joined the Badgers staff in 2005 and helped lead them to the NCAA Tournament in each of his five seasons in Madison. The team advanced past the first round of the Big Dance in each of the last four seasons and produced a memorable Sweet 16 run in With Moore on the bench, Wisconsin posted three-of the top-five winningest seasons in school history, including an historic campaign that saw the Badgers win a school-record 31 games en route to Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. Before joining the staff in Madison, Moore spent one season as an assistant coach under Jim Whitesell at Horizon League foe Loyola in In his brief tenure in Rogers Park, Moore helped the Ramblers win six-of their final seven contests and advance all the way to the Horizon League semifinals. Moore handled off-campus recruiting duties and worked primarily with Loyola s post players in the turnaround season. In Moore served as an assistant under head coach Tim Buckley at Ball State where he helped shape the Cardinals into the top threepoint field goal percentage defensive team in the Mid-American Conference. Off the court, the Chicago native worked to reel in what many recruiting experts dubbed as the best class in the MAC.

2 Makin It Hot Moore spent as an assistant coach at Bradley University where he worked as a recruiter and mentor to both the guards and post players. The 2001 recruiting class was one of his best, featuring Danny Granger, who eventually blossomed into a 2009 NBA AllStar as a member of the Indiana Pacers. Moore also served as an administrative assistant at Bradley during the season. THE HOWARD MOORE FILE Season Record Postseason Conf. Record Finish t-10th NCAA 2nd Round th The loyal Chicagoan began his collegiate coaching career in his hometown by serving as an assistant coach at the University of Chicago during the campaign; prior to that, he served as an assistant coach for two years at his alma mater, Taft High School NCAA 2nd Round 10-8 t-4th NCAA Sweet st NCAA 2nd Round nd NCAA 1st Round 9-7 t-4th Moore played in 47 games for Wisconsin from During his playing career under head coaches Steve Yoder, Stu Jackson and Stan Van Gundy, the Badgers earned back-to-back NIT berths in 1991 and t-4th rd (West) t-5th th NIT 1st Round 12-6 t-2nd In 1994, Moore teamed with Michael Finley, Rashard Griffith, Tracy Webster, Andy Kilbride and Brian Kelley to help Wisconsin end a 47-year drought and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since In 1994, Moore represented the Big Ten Conference on a team of league all-stars who were selected to compete in Argentina. Moore and his wife, Jennifer, have two children: a son, Jerell, and a daughter, Jaidyn present: UIC Head Coach : Wisconsin Assistant Coach : Loyola Assistant Coach : Ball State Assistant Coach : Bradley Assistant Coach Second year head coach Howard Moore s initial recruiting class at UIC includes four natives of the city of Chicago.

3 UIC Basketball ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH AL BIANCALANA Al Biancalana enters his second season on the UIC coaching staff, and his first campaign as the Associate Head Coach. He was named to his current post in August Biancalana is no stranger to the bench, having spent more than 20 years as a coach throughout Illinois and California, including 17 years as a head coach. Most recently, Biancalana served as the head basketball coach at York High School in suburban Elmhurst, Ill. In five seasons at the helm, his teams posted a record of and a winning percentage of.638, which ranks as the second-highest in school history. He guided the Dukes to four-straight Illinois High School Athletic Association (IHSA) regional championship appearances and in , he led the Dukes to their first West Suburban Conference Championship in 38 seasons. Prior to his stint at York, where also served as the school s college and career advisor, Biancalana worked for six seasons as the first assistant and interim head coach at Bradley University from It was there that he formed a relationship with UIC head coach Howard Moore, who was on the staff from Biancalana served as the program s main recruiter and was responsible for bringing in the majority of the roster from the Braves 2006 Sweet 16 run. His eye for talent is unquestioned as two players who were recruited by Biancalana to Bradley went on to the NBA, Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers) and Patrick O Bryant (Golden State Warriors). Biancalana has also served as a head coach for Stagg High School ( ) in Palos Hills, Ill., Downers Grove North High School ( ), Clovis High School ( ) in Clovis, Calif., and Washington Union High School ( ) in Fresno, Calif. In 1988, while at Washington Union, Biancalana was named California Coach of the Year and led his squad to a Division IV State Championship. Biancalana received a bachelor s degree in education from Elmhurst College in 1982 and a master s degree in educational administration from National University in Fresno in Biancalana and his wife, Laura, have three children: A.J. (10), Jack (6) and Audrey (4). Biancalana and head coach Howard Moore were on the same staff at Bradley from

4 Makin It Hot ASSISTANT COACH DONNIE KIRKSEY Donnie Kirksey made the jump back into the collegiate coaching ranks by joining Howard Moore s first staff at UIC prior to the campaign. From , Kirksey served as the head basketball coach and athletic director at Hyde Park Academy in Chicago. In three seasons at the helm, Kirksey s teams averaged nearly 24 wins per season and posted an overall record of Before returning home, the Chicago native spent three and half years in Los Angeles where he worked for SFX Basketball Group, LLC. There, he worked with several high-profile professional basketball clients on a daily basis. Kirksey helped the athletes transition into professional life, and organized several appearances and speaking engagements for his clients. In , Kirksey was a member of Pat Kennedy s staff at DePaul. He organized film analysis and breakdown, assisted in practices and games and monitored the academic progress of the Blue Demons. From , Kirksey served in a similar capacity at Chicago State under Bo Ellis. Kirksey graduated from Roosevelt University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration - Management. He resides in Chicago. A well-plugged recruiter in the Windy City, Kirksey has also served assistant coaching stints at DePaul and Chicago State.

5 UIC Basketball ASSISTANT COACH STEW ROBINSON First Season at UIC Stew Robinson, a former assistant coach at both Texas Tech and Morehead State, enters his first season in the same post at UIC. Robinson spent the past eight seasons as an assistant with the Red Raiders under Head Coaches Bob Knight and Pat Knight. Tech advanced to three NCAA Tournaments ( , and ) with Robinson on staff, and won 19 or more games four times. During the season, Robinson served as an assistant coach at Morehead State, helping the Golden Eagles compile their first 20-win season (20-9) and capture an Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championship. Robinson also served one season ( ) as an assistant coach at Plattsburgh State. Robinson was a standout guard at Indiana ( ) under Bob Knight, helping the Hoosiers advance to three NCAA Tournaments, including two Sweet 16 berths. He was also a member of Indiana s Big Ten Conference championship team. During his career, Robinson scored 630 points and dished out 391 assists. Stew Robinson played and coached under legendary head coach Bobby Knight.

6 Makin It Hot DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS DREW SLEMPKES Drew Slempkes enters his second season on the coaching staff at UIC, and his first campaign as the Director of Basketball Operations. He served as the program s Director of Student-Athlete Development during the campaign. Prior to joining the Flames staff, Slempkes worked from with the Department of Juvenile Corrections and the SPRITE program, an outdoor educational program focused on developing pro-social skills for delinquent youth (ages 13-20) transitioning back into their communities. Among his duties, Slempkes facilitated ropes courses, developed educational content for Urban Week and implemented health lessons on decision making, nutrition, AODA, priorities and community development. Slempkes had been a coach in both track and field and boys basketball at Madison Memorial High School (Wis.) where he helped the sophomore hoops squad to back-to-back Big 8 Conference Championships in 2008 and In 2008, his team finished runner-up in state and in 2009, they won it all. Slempkes, a former student manager for the Badgers, graduated from Wisconsin in 2007 with a degree in kinesiology and a health education minor. DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL AND VIDEO OPERATIONS JEREMY BUTTELL Jeremy Buttell enters his second season on the coaching staff at UIC, and his first campaign as the Coordinator of Video and Basketball Operations. He served as the program s administrative assistant during the campaign. Buttell joined the staff following a tremendous three-year playing career for the Flames under former head coach Jimmy Collins. Buttell played three seasons at UIC ( ), competing in 88 games and garnering 60 starts. In , Buttell ranked fifth in the Horizon League with 7.5 rebounds per game, while producing five double-doubles, including four in the final five games of the season. As a junior ( ), Buttell played in 26 games, and turned in four double-digit rebounding efforts. He averaged 7.8 rebounds over the final 12 contests. In his first season as a Flame ( ), Buttell started 15 of the 33 games in which he played. Buttell began his college career at Texas Tech ( ), playing one season under legendary head coach Bob Knight. He played in 19 games as a true freshman before transferring to UIC. A native of Colleyville, Texas, Buttell earned a bachelor s degree in communications at UIC in 2009 and a master s in education instructional leadership in 2010, earning the graduate degree with a spotless 4.0 grade-point-average.