Monroe leads Retrievers out of doghouse

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» 302 days ago: Monroe leads Retrievers out of doghouse «

304 days ago: UMBC hopes to end 40-year wait

305 days ago: Retrievers are one win away

UMBC coach Randy Monroe has the Retrievers one victory away from earning their first berth in the NCAA Tournament in the Catonsville school’s 40-year history. Monroe, 45, took over the team in 2004 after it was coming off a 7-21 season. Four seasons later under Monroe, who was an UMBC assistant for 10 years before being promoted, the Retrievers posted their best season. — Arianne Starnes/The Examiner

The Retrievers had just completed a 7-21 season in which its coach, Tom Sullivan, resigned just before the start of the America East Tournament, causing the team to reach one of its lowest points in the Catonsville school’s history.

Brown, however, decided he didn’t need to look far — or long — to find a coach capable of transforming the downtrodden program into a contender for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

So on March 23, 2004 — just two weeks after the season ended — Brown named Randy Monroe the school’s seventh men’s basketball coach.

Monroe, 45, spent the previous 10 seasons as an assistant at UMBC under former coaches Earl Hawkins and Sullivan. But before arriving at the commuter school just a few miles outside of the beltway, Monroe, a native of Philadelphia, had spent a combined nine seasons as an assistant at Cheyney, Vanderbilt and La Salle.

But to Brown, Monroe’s lack of head coaching experience was trumped by his love for the game and UMBC community.

“I knew Randy wanted to be a head coach because he expressed interest in the job when we hired Tom Sullivan,” Brown said. “But he wasn’t ready yet. I had a chance to know Randy for 10 years before he became a head coach and I knew I had someone who knew how to build a program and wanted to be close to the kids he coached.”

Brown never has wavered in his confidence in Monroe, something that paid off this season as UMBC won a school-record 23 games and won its first America East regular season title. Now, the Retrievers (23-8) have a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their 40-year history by defeating Hartford (18-15) on Saturday at noon in front of a capacity crowd at RAC Arena and national television audience on ESPN2.

A TOUGH START

Monroe, who recently was named the America East Coach of the Year, said the 2003-04 season — his final year as an assistant — was his most trying.

But it also taught him a lesson — one that has helped the Retrievers post their best season in school history.

“One thing I always tell my players is that you have to go through it to get to it,” he said. “That means you have to deal with adversity sometimes to understand how to accomplish success.”

UMBC definitely dealt with its fair share of adversity in its first three seasons under Monroe, as the Retrievers went 33-56. The team, however, began showing progress last season by going 12-19 overall and 7-9 in league play to finish in fourth — its best finish in school history.

A PROMISING FUTURE

The Retrievers took the next step this season by combining three transfers — Darryl Proctor, Ray Barbosa and Cavell Johnson — with returning players Brian Hodges and Jay Greene, a junior point guard who has been the catalyst behind the Retrievers’ resurgence.

“After visiting the school, I really felt like I could trust Coach Monroe,” Greene said. “I believed he was building something special and I wanted to be a part of it. It’s been a tough process, but I’m proud how we’ve gotten to this point.”

Monroe’s success at a school known for its men’s soccer and lacrosse teams has not gone unnoticed.

“Randy recruited some nice players like Brian Hodges and Jay Greene and then brought in the right transfers to complement them,” Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz said. “That’s not an easy thing to do, but he found the right mix of players and got them to mesh together perfectly.”

rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com