By Chris Raimondi, Sports Editor
Kennesaw State Athletics Department announced Sunday Al Skinner will be the new men’s basketball head coach.
Skinner brings over 20 years of coaching experience to KSU and was named the 2001 National Coach of the Year during his tenure at Boston College.
“The University itself is making progress so I think what they are trying to do is bring the athletic program up to speed to what the quality of the education is at Kennesaw,” Skinner said. “What made it a good fit for me was, because they are so young in how long they have been division one, they could use a person with my experience. Not someone just local, but someone who has a national reputation. With my experience I think we can accelerate the process of trying to be successful and be competitive in the league that they’re in.”
After serving as an assistant coach at Marist University and Rhode Island, Skinner was named the head coach at Rhode Island where he went 138-126 over nine seasons with two appearances in the NCAA tournament.
Skinner left Rhode Island for Boston College in 1997 where he went on to lead the Eagles for 13 seasons to a 247-165 record with seven NCAA tournament appearances. Boston College collected two Big East regular season championships and one Big East tournament championship during his time as head coach. Skinner was named Big East coach of the Year in 2001 and 2005.
Since leaving Boston College in 2010, Skinner spent time as an assistant coach at Bryant University in Rhode Island from 2013-2015.
“The thing that appealed to me the most, from the standpoint of Kennesaw, is the fact that over the last few years there have been different teams that have won the (Atlantic Sun) and gone on to the NCAA tournament,” Skinner said. “So what that says is if you do it right and you do it well you have the potential to win.”
Skinner mentioned that drawing fans to the Convocation Center will be essential in his building of the program.
“People talk about the larger schools, it’s not always because of the players that are playing, it’s about the environment,” he said. “Whether you’re talking about the Big 12, the ACC, North Carolina, Duke, it’s their fans that make it special. That’s what creates college environment, that’s a great college atmosphere are the fans.
“The players are going to play regardless of who shows up, but it’s the fans that make the difference. If they are willing to inject themselves and support the team as much as they possibly can, that is what will electrify this process. That will make young men want to come to Kennesaw, the study body.”
The announcement of Skinner marks the fourth head coach for KSU men’s basketball program in the last six years. The Owls went 10-22 this past season, 6-25 in 2013-14 and 3-27 in 2012-13. While the program is still under review and former head coach Lallathin’s position is still yet to be determined, Skinner remains focused on his assignments.
“I’m not concerned with the past,” he said. “All I’m going to do is look ahead and I’m going to try to bring some men in to that environment that can be successful not only in the classroom, but also on the basketball floor and young people who are going to integrate themselves into the community here.
“I’m most excited for my opportunity to put my stamp on the program and build a foundation in that years from now they are going to say , ‘It started with Al Skinner,’ and we’re going to try and build on that. We are going to try and make it one of the best schools in the conference. If you do that consistently then you are going to have national recognition.”
