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June 9, 2008

Brown's new head coach aims for top of Ivy League

By MIKE SZOSTAK
Journal Sports Writer

PROVIDENCE - Jesse Agel, Brown University's new head basketball coach, spent the last 19 years as an assistant at the University of Vermont and at Brown. When did he think he was ready for the top job?

"After my first day of practice 20 years ago," he said yesterday, after being introduced as Craig Robinson's successor.

Agel, 46, worked with Robinson the last two years and last season helped coach the Bears to a 19-10 record, the most victories in a season in Brown basketball history, an 11-3 record, a second-place finish behind Cornell in the Ivy League and a berth in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

For 17 years prior to Brown, Agel was an assistant at Vermont. He was associate head coach under Tom Brennan for the last eight and shared credit for the Catamounts' title runs in 2003, 2004 and 2005, as well as their stunning first-round upset of Syracuse in the 2005 NCAA Tournament at Worcester. T.J. Sorrentine of Pawtucket and Taylor Coppenrath, America East rookies and players of the year, were the heroes of those teams.

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Posted by mikemcd at 3:40 PM

Brown introduces Agel as new men's basketball coach

PROVIDENCE (AP) - Brown University didn't look far for its new men's basketball coach.
The Ivy League school announced Monday that it has selected assistant coach Jesse Agel to replace Craig Robinson, the brother-in-law of Barack Obama who left after two seasons to take the head-coaching job at Oregon State.

Agel was Robinson's assistant for two years. Before coming to Brown, the 46-year-old was an assistant at Vermont for 17 years.

Agel says his goal is to win Ivy League championships, which the school hasn't done in more than 20 years.

Brown won a school-record 19 games last season, finishing second in the Ivy League and earning a bid to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

Posted by mikemcd at 1:16 PM

Brown to introduce new basketball coach today at 12:30

The long-awaited decision to appoint a new men's basketball coach at Brown University has apparently ended. Brown will hold a news conference at 12:30 p.m. at the Pizzitola Center, where athletic director Michael Goldberger will introduce the new coach. Brown has been without a coach since April 7, when Craig Robinson resigned to become the head coach at Oregon State.

To see live streaming video of the announcement, go to http://brownbears.com and click on the audio/video link.

Posted by mikemcd at 10:57 AM