The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Davis Names Assistant Head Coaches
4/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 14, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- New UAB men's basketball head coach Mike Davis announced the addition of three veteran coaches to his staff Friday. Assistant coaches Kerry Rupp and Donnie Marsh follow Davis from his staff at Indiana while former Ole Miss assistant Tracy Dildy rounds out the UAB basketball staff. All three will assume the title of assistant head coach.
"I am excited to bring to UAB an outstanding staff that brings with them a lot of experience," Davis said. "Two of these coaches were on the bench with me at Indiana and are very familiar with me, the other is, I think, the best recruiter in the country. Each of the three has had the opportunity to be a head coach, so UAB can feel rest assured the program is in good hands."
Kerry Rupp  |
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Rupp spent the last two seasons as Davis's associate head coach at Indiana University after leading Utah to the 2004 Mountain West Conference title and NCAA Tournament berth as the Utes' interim head coach. Well-known for landing 2005 Collegiate Basketball Player of the Year and No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Andrew Bogut for Utah, Rupp is a veteran recruiter as well as a brilliant on-court tactician. He has been involved with five straight postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournaments with Utah and both an NCAA Tournament and NIT at Indiana.
A native of Utah and 1977 graduate of Southern Utah, Rupp had a 24-year run as one of the most successful high school coaches in his native state before joining the collegiate ranks. Rupp and his wife, Lori, have five daughters and three grandchildren.
"Kerry Rupp is a relentless worker who is very detail oriented," Davis said. "He is exceptional in working with our big guys in the post. He has an excellent track record as a recruiter and was the interim head coach at Utah, so his experience will be a great asset to UAB."
Donnie Marsh |
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Marsh also spent the last two years on Davis's staff at IU under the title of assistant head coach. The veteran recruiter and strategist is the former head coach at Florida International where he led the Golden Panthers from 2000-04. There he played a key role in the development of Carlos Arroyo, who became just the fifth Puerto Rico native to play in the NBA. Prior to FIU, Marsh served time as an assistant at Virginia Tech (1997-2000) and Florida State (1994-97). He served as head coach at Trenton State (N.J.) College from 1989-93 and at Elizabethtown (Pa. College in 1988-89.
A 1979 graduate of Franklin & Marshall (Pa.) College, Marsh earned All-America honors and helped the Diplomats to a 27-5 record and NCAA Division III Final Four as a senior. He and his wife, LaRoyce, have two children.
"Coach Marsh is someone who also brings a lot of coaching experience to UAB," Davis said. "He was the head coach at Florida International. He will be responsible for the defensive side of the ball. He is an outstanding defensive coach."
Tracy Dildy |
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Dildy is widely respected as one of the nation's top recruiters and was named one of the top recruiters in the nation by Rivals.com's basketball recruiting experts. His efforts at Ole Miss this year resulted in a 2005-06 recruiting class ranked as high as No. 3 nationally. Prior to his time with the Rebels, Dildy was an assistant coach at both Auburn (2002-04), DePaul (1997-2002), Ball State (1994-97) and his alma mater, Illinois-Chicago (1991-94). Some of his signees in that span include 1999 Conference USA Player and Freshman of the Year Quentin Richardson at DePaul, current Memphis Grizzlies forward Bonzi Wells at Ball State and three Midwestern Collegiate Conference Players of the Year at Illinois-Chicago in Kenny Williams (1993-94), Sherrell Ford (1994-95) and Mark Miller (1997-98). Two of DePaul's recruiting classes were ranked No. 1 (Class of 2001) and No. 2 (Class of 1999) nationally in Dildy's tenure there. Dildy was also the substitute head coach at DePaul in the 2001-02 season when Pat Kennedy missed several games with a back injury.
The 1995 inductee into the Illinois-Chicago Athletic Hall of Fame and 1991 UIC graduate is also a member of the State of Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame and the Chicago Public League Hall of Fame. Dildy and his wife, the former Tracy Collier of Auburn, Ala., have four children.
"Tracy Dildy is the best in the country in terms of recruiting student-athletes," Davis declared. "He has a wealth of experience and was able to handle head coaching duties at DePaul for a short time. Again, experience is the key element and he, along with coach Rupp and coach Marsh, give us a very experienced basketball staff."
Davis and his roster of coaches take over a UAB program that has made four straight postseason appearances, including three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. The Blazers have also had four consecutive 20-win seasons and are coming off a 24-7 campaign in which they were both regular season and tournament runners-up in Conference USA.
