NICK Macarchuk, the man who built Stony Brook into a respectable Division I program, continues to contemplate whether it’s time to entrust the Seawolves’ growth to someone else.
Although Marcarchuk has told fellow head coaches he plans to make this season his last, two sources close to the situation said nothing is final, and the situation will not be discussed in the athletic department until after the season.
Macarchuk, 63, in his sixth season on Long Island and his 28th as a Division I head coach, is signed through 2005-06. But a sagging program that looks headed for a fourth straight losing season may need a change, and Macarchuk knows it.
A head coaching switch would culminate a Stony Brook athletic department overhaul engineered by athletic director Jim Fiore, who took charge 18 months ago. Fiore has placed new personnel in more than half of the department’s 75 positions and changed three head coaches, including women’s basketball.
The two clashed early last year, and Macarchuk’s fear of getting fired pushed him to encourage two of his assistants to look for other jobs. But the two have grown closer, the sources said, even dining together with their wives on several occasions.
The cordial relationship, and Fiore’s respect for Macarchuk’s resume, should prevent the coach from being fired. But this year’s Seawolves (7-10, 2-6 America East), who lost 65-47 at home against Boston University yesterday, may be Macarchuk’s last team.
He’d leave a perimeter-geared team which should prosper from the long-term tandem of freshman Antwan Hardy and sophomore Mitchel Beauford, who plans to redshirt this season after breaking his right foot Dec. 8 at Rhode Island.
For now, Macarchuk’s focus remains on getting this year’s team to play better.
“We’re a different team without Mitchell,” he said. “It’s had an effect on our whole team. We’re still trying to find ourselves without him.”
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Chalk St. Peter’s recent struggles up to horrible defense. And count coach Bob Leckie as responsible.
“[We’re lacking] a coach who can coach defense,” Leckie said after Monday’s 92-82 loss at Manhattan. “What we put out there is a product of how I teach defense. I’ll take the blame for that.”
In the latest edition of NCAA stats, which included all games through last Monday, the Peacocks ranked 319th out the 326th Division I school in scoring defense, allowing 78.9 points per game. They fare a bit better in field-goal percentage defense, letting teams hit 47.6 percentage of their shots, 307th in the nation.
Those numbers don’t include Friday night’s 93-88 loss at Iona, where the Gaels shot 63 percent from the field. The loss gave St. Peter’s (6-10, 1-6) sole possession of the MAAC cellar.
The lackluster record may prevent Peacocks star Keydren Clark, who at 25.8 points per game is poised to again lead Division I in scoring, from claiming conference player of the year honors.
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Iona has accepted Penn State transfer John Kelly, a 7-foot redshirt freshman from West Milford, N.J. Kelly is taking classes and will be eligible starting in December.