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Kevin McGuff (Head Coach The Ohio State Women's Basketball)

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It's official

Kevin McGuff Named Head Women's Basketball Coach

Gene Smith, Ohio State associate vice president and director of athletics, announced today Kevin McGuff has been named head women's basketball coach at The Ohio State University. "We are excited with the opportunity for Kevin to lead our women's basketball program," Smith said. "He is a proven leader and has done a marvelous job everywhere he has been. We welcome him back to his home, Ohio."

"I am extremely excited and humbled to be the next women's basketball coach at Ohio State," McGuff said. "This is an amazing opportunity for my family and me to come back to the state of Ohio. I would like to thank Gene, Miechelle Willis and President Gee for putting their faith in me to be their next head coach. As someone who is from the state of Ohio, I know how special of a place this is and my goal is to have Ohio State competing at the highest level of women's college basketball."

"Kevin is the perfect fit to lead our women's basketball program," Willis said. "Kevin was strongly recommended by many in and around college basketball and after his interview, we knew he was the right choice. He has strong ties to Ohio and the Midwest and we are thrilled to welcome Kevin and his family back to Ohio."

McGuff recently completed his 11th year as a head coach. The last two were at the University of Washington and the previous nine at Xavier University. He has compiled an overall record of 255-99 and has reached the postseason each year.

The Saint Joseph's College (Ind.) graduate comes to Columbus after two years at the University of Washington, where he went 41-26 with two berths in the WNIT. In his first season McGuff led the Huskies to a 20-14 finish - its first 20-win season since 2003 - and a trip to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. In the WNIT, Washington went on a memorable run, beating Cal Poly, Utah and Oregon State before falling to San Diego in the quarterfinals. It was the first winning season for UW since 2006-07 and the first postseason appearance since 2009-10. This past season his Huskie squad finished 21-12 with a second round finish in the WNIT.

On the recruiting trail, McGuff landed the program's first two McDonald's All-Americans in Katie Collier in 2012 and Kelsey Plum in 2013.

Prior to his stint in Washington, McGuff was the head coach at Xavier for nine seasons. As the head coach of the Musketeers, McGuff compiled a 214-73 record and set a school record for most wins in program history, reaching the postseason in each season he coached. His five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances was also a school record. During that stretch, McGuff's Xavier teams were consistently the class of the Atlantic-10, sporting a 106-28 record in nine seasons. In his last two seasons, Xavier went undefeated (14-0) in A-10 play.

McGuff led the Musketeers to four A-10 tournament championships, including his final year at Xavier. That season, his team posted a 28-3 record (.903 winning percentage) and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. McGuff made the NCAA tournament six times overall as the Xavier coach. His pinnacle was an Elite Eight appearance in the 2009-10 season, where his team was one missed layup away from the Final Four.

In Cincinnati, McGuff demonstrated he could bring talented student-athletes to the Queen City from across the nation. From 2005-11, McGuff signed players from 12 states, showing he is capable of recruiting in all areas of the country. The class he signed in 2010 was ranked No. 18 in the country.

McGuff took over the Xavier job after a six-year run as an assistant coach at Notre Dame, inheriting a team that had gone 12-19 the year before. McGuff steered the program to a 20-10 record, one of the most significant turnarounds for a head coach at that time. While with the Fighting Irish, McGuff was an assistant to legendary coach Muffet McGraw. He was a staff member on the Notre Dame team that captured the NCAA Championship in 2001. The Irish reached the Sweet Sixteen four times during his tenure in South Bend and the Final Four twice.

Prior to taking the job as an assistant at Notre Dame, McGuff held a similar position with Miami University (Ohio). During his time in Oxford, McGuff was in charge of scouting efforts, internal and external operations of the program, as well as the director of the team's summer camps.

The 43-year-old McGuff is married to wife, Letitia. The couple has six children: Kilyn, Keiryn, Lukas, Lake, Lily and Leks.

What they are saying about Kevin McGuff:
"I'm excited to hear about Kevin's hiring. I have watched his progression through the college ranks for a number of years. The Ohio State University got a great coach and person and I'm happy to have him in our Basketball Family."
Thad Matta
Ohio State men's basketball coach

"I know Kevin McGuff as a basketball coach perhaps as well as any coach. And I respect him as much as anybody. He has a phenomenal way of connecting with young kids, not only coaching them but also recruiting them. What he did at Xavier was unprecedented. I worked right next to him for five years, and I know Ohio State could not have found a better basketball coach. He's comprehensive, not only with recruiting but also player-development. Most importantly he has the ability to win, and he covers all bases."
Sean Miller
University of Arizona head men's basketball coach

"Kevin is a tremendous coach who has achieved success everywhere he has been. He has a great eye for talent and a terrific understanding of the game. As a native of Ohio, he's an ideal fit because he's someone who not only understands the unique traditions of Ohio State, but can carry on and enhance the run of success that has made Ohio State one of the Big Ten's top programs."
Muffet McGraw
Notre Dame head coach
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If Gordon Gee and Robert Schottenstein had let Gene Smith anywhere near the football job, David Shula would be coaching the Buckeyes right now.

Here's my interpretation of the hiring of Urban Meyer starring Gene Smith and E. Gordon Gee.

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GOTLikeABoss2.gif
 
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I will give props when props are due so whoever was responsible for this hiring it was a good hire. When McGuff was at Xavier they played in the NCAA a few times and he is known as a relentless recruiter. However, he still has to prove himself on the big stage and that will not be easy with what Foster has left him for the next couple seasons. So, I will wait and see and then judge.
 
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LitlBuck;2329001; said:
I will give props when props are due so whoever was responsible for this hiring it was a good hire. When McGuff was at Xavier they played in the NCAA a few times and he is known as a relentless recruiter. However, he still has to prove himself on the big stage and that will not be easy with what Foster has left him for the next couple seasons. So, I will wait and see and then judge.
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I know virtually nothing about womens BB, but on paper it doesn't look bad...not too old, upwardly mobile, good recruiter, Ohio ties etc.

It also looks like Ohio State is paying $1.75M to cover his buyout clause with Washington.
 
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LitlBuck;2329001; said:
I will give props when props are due so whoever was responsible for this hiring it was a good hire. When McGuff was at Xavier they played in the NCAA a few times and he is known as a relentless recruiter. However, he still has to prove himself on the big stage and that will not be easy with what Foster has left him for the next couple seasons. So, I will wait and see and then judge.
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You had me at "relentless recruiter".

All the folks knocking Gene Smith in the hockey thread need to take heed.
 
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Ohio State found its man in Kevin McGuff, but the path coulld have been easier

After three weeks of missteps by Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith, the Buckeyes lucked into Kevin McGuff as their new head coach to fill the position vacated by long-time coach Jim Foster.

McGuff, 255-99 in 11 years at Xavier and Washington, is a proven winner, an Ohio native and has great AAU ties in the area. He was an assistant on the Notre Dame 2001 National Championship team and played a major role in that program's development.

Ohio State on the other hand nearly bungled the negotiation of a plum job.
First, it was Dawn Staley who came in and started to negotiate and then got wind of the fact that former Duke and Texas coach Gail Goestenkors was being contacted behind the scenes.

Goestenkors then became the object of attention until she got wind of the fact that Ohio State was interested in Louisville's Jeff Walz, after his team beat overall number one seed Baylor in the NCAA's. She removed herself from the process and next came Melanie Balcomb, from Vanderbilt where Foster also coached. That didn't work and Ohio State had apparently turned to Tricia Cullop of Toledo.

Ohio State then shifted direction and made contact with Ohio native McGuff. It took a day to put together a seven year deal which included Ohio State paying a $1.75 million buyout after McGuff had just negotiated an extension with Washington a few weeks before.

In the end, Ohio State has its man. But the path could have been a lot easier. McGuff should turn Ohio State into an instant winner in the not too difficult Big Ten.
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The more I think about it the more I really begin to wonder about some of these claims. Coaches withdrew from the process because the program was talking to other people?! Something about that just doesn't ring true.

Even big time football searches don't end with high profile coaches being upset because *gasp* a school had multiple candidates on it's list.

So what in the world really happened behind the scenes? Was the school being unusually deceptive with potential hires? Are women's basketball coaches possibly just bigger prima donnas than those in college football (I find that extremely hard to believe)? More likely, are the people reporting on it just more naive & is everything just being blown out of proportion? There is something missing from the picture right now.

That being said the more I see on McGuff the more I like the hire. The native Ohio boy Meyerlike "Ohio State?! F' ya I'll take the job!" is pretty awesome. I always like it when someone isn't afraid to admit that they are absolutely thrilled to be at their dream job.

Now go reel in Kelsey Mitchell, Alexa Hart & Alyssa Rice coach!
 
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LitlBuck;2329199; said:
In an article Fosters states that he had a junior-college player who made a verbal to Ohio State and a European player who wanted to come here.it will be interesting to see if they still come or if McGuff even wants them. Foster says that he wants to coach again someplace.

http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/con...7/0417-sports-report-lead-art-g09mhjqt-1.html
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LOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!

Foster had a JuCo and a Euro coming when Ohio has the numbers 4, 11, 16, 30, 31, 53, and 58 ranked players in the junior class

http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls...s/_/class/2014

Way to recruit Jimbo! I am glad that guy is gone. Here's to Kevin trying to make up for lost recruiting time. I hope his Ohio connections work some magic and keep a couple of these girls at home.
 
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Interesting Story
Nearly 12 years ago, a debate broke out between Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw and one of her assistants, Kevin McGuff.

McGraw, planning a recruiting trip, had booked a nonstop flight from Boston to Los Angeles: United 175, leaving Logan International Airport the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. McGuff, meanwhile, scheduled his coast-to-coast flight out of Providence, R.I.

A discussion ensued. McGuff insisted it would be less of a traffic headache if he did not have to drop off McGraw in Boston. Instead, she should fly out of Providence with him. McGraw resisted.

“He was pretty stubborn,” McGraw said at the time. “Had it been another assistant, I would have gotten on that plane.”

Instead, McGraw canceled her seat on United 175, which never made it to Los Angeles. It was the second jet to crash into the World Trade Center in New York.

McGraw still coaches the Fighting Irish, thanks in part to the persistence of her former assistant, who now brings those powers of persuasion — the ability to prove a point — to Ohio State.
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more
http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/04/18/persuasive-new-coach-must-raise-bar.html
 
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