Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
The University of Hawaii at Hilo might have found its man.
The Tribune-Herald was unable to confirm that the school had come to an agreement with a new men’s basketball coach Wednesday after it was reported that GE Coleman’s hiring would be announced in the coming days.
Citing officials at Central Washington, where Coleman has been an assistant coach for the past six seasons, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that Coleman had accepted the job.
However, a UHH spokesman said he could not confirm the report.
Coleman’s selection would end a prolonged search for the Vulcans and athletic director Dexter Irvin, who has been leading the pursuit for a coach since an announcement in mid-March that Jeff Law would not return for a 16th season.
UHH initially targeted three finalists, but all three turned the job down.
The 31-year-old Coleman was among a group of three new finalists that also included Ferris State University interim coach Andy Bronkema and St. Martin’s University coach Keith Cooper. Irvin told the Tribune-Herald earlier in the week that he hoped “to finish the hiring process this week.”
Coleman was associate head coach this past season as the Wildcats finished 15-13. In the six seasons he’s been an assistant at his alma mater, Central Washington, a Division II school in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, is 111-54.
Coleman was also an assistant at Eastern Washington on a coaching staff that included Carl Howell, who is now the athletic director at Tacoma Community College.
On his Twitter account Wednesday, Howell posted: “Congrats to my great friend GE Coleman on being named the new Head Coach at Hawaii-Hilo. He will do a GREAT job!”