NMU to Host Forum For New Men\’s Basketball Coach
MARQUETTE, Mich. – Three candidates for the head men’s basketball coaching position at Northern Michigan University will be on campus later in the week. The NMU campus community, public and media are invited to meet all three candidates in a question and answer forum.
Friday (April 30) will bring two of the candidates to Marquette. Lance Randall, the current associate head men’s basketball coach at UW-Stevens Point, and Kevin Mondro, a current assistant men’s basketball coach at Loyola University (Chicago), will be available at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively in the Izzo-Mariucci Academic Center.
Saturday (May 1) the third candidate, Doug Lewis, Jr., presently the head men’s basketball coach at Central State University (Ohio), will be available at 3:30 p.m. in the Izzo-Mariucci Academic Center.
“I am extremely excited about the candidates coming to campus to interview for the men’s basketball coaching position,” said Ken Godfrey, the NMU Athletic Director. “The overall quality of candidates applying for the job was outstanding.”
Lance Randall
Randall just completed his first season as the associate head men’s basketball coach at UW-Stevens Point. UW-Stevens Point recently won the NCAA Division III National Championship. Randall has head coaching experience at the high school, college and professionals levels. He led Oshkosh West High School to back-to-back state titles in 2006 and 2007. His coaching stops have included on the collegiate level: Loyola University (assistant coach), Saint Louis University (assistant coach), Webster University (head coach) and Beloit College (assistant coach). His other high school coaching stint was at Cedarburg High School as the head coach. Randall was the head coach and vice president of operations for the Pertemps Birmingham Bullets professional team in Birmingham, England.
A 1994 graduate of Beloit College with a bachelor’s degree in government, Randall also holds a master of arts degree in teaching from Webster University. During his playing days at Beloit, Randall was a two-time basketball team captain and Johnny Orr Leadership award winner and team MVP.
Kevin Mondro
Mondro just completed his first season on the Ramblers men’s basketball bench as one of the assistant coaches. Prior to his appointment at Loyola he spent the previous 11 seasons on the University of Detroit-Mercy men’s basketball staff. For part of the 2007-08 season (16 games) he was the interim head coach for the Titans. Mondro began his career at Detroit as the director of basketball operations before being promoted to assistant coach. He was the associate head coach for a part of four seasons.
During his stay on the Detroit staff he helped the Titans to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths (1998 and 1999) and two trips to the National Invitation Tournament (2001 and 2002) with a trip to the NIT semifinals in New York in 2001. At Detroit he worked mainly with the perimeter players as he assisted current Philadelphia 76ers guard Willie Green earn Horizon League Player of the Year honors in 2003. Mondro was a walk-on to the Detroit team and played part of three seasons with the Titans before and injury ended his career. He is a 1997 graduate of Detroit-Mercy.
Doug Lewis, Jr.
Lewis just completed his seventh season as the head men’s basketball coach at Central State University. His overall record with the Marauders is 126-61. Lewis led Central State to a 22-6 record for the 2009-10 season and a spot in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament. During his tenure with the Marauders he has led the team to two Independent Collegiate Athletic Association (ICAA) Championships for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Lewis picked up ICAA Coach of the Year honors for the 2008-09 season.
Prior to his appointment as the head coach, Lewis spent five seasons (1998-03) as the associate head coach for the Marauders. He helped Central State to an 81-59 record as the associate head coach. From 1993-98, Lewis served as the assistant basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was the assistant coach at Washington High School in Milwaukee for the 1992-93 season. That season Washington won the Division I Wisconsin State High School Basketball Championship. Lewis is a 1989 graduate of Missouri State University, with a bachelor’s degree in communications (business industrial). A two-time letterwinner for the Bears he was the Mid-Continent Conference Newcomer of the Year in 1998 and led the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances.