Notables

Michael Rhoades is taking a short trip, leaving Randolph-Macon to become an assistant coach at Division I Virginia Commonwealth.

"I'm extremely ecstatic about the staff we’ve assembled. It possesses the ideal blend of energy, experience and expertise," head coach Shaka Smart said. “We are excited about rolling up our sleeves and going to work for VCU basketball."

Fortunately for Rhoades, his wardrobe does not need to change much for the black and gold of the Rams after serving as the head coach in nearby Ashland, Va., for the past 10 seasons.

"During the whole process, it was a priority that we assembled a staff that held strong ties within the state," Smart said. Smart is a 1999 graduate of Kenyon.

Under the direction of Rhoades, the Yellow Jackets posted 20-plus wins in six of the past seven seasons and finished with a mark of 197-76 (.726).

"I'm extremely pleased to add a coach of Mike’s caliber to our staff," Smart commented. "The opportunity to work with 10 years of head coaching experience really excites me."

During his 10 years at the helm, Randolph-Macon made four NCAA Tournament appearances and captured the 2003 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship. Rhoades was honored by his peers as ODAC Coach of the Year on three occasions.

His finest campaign came in 2002-2003, when the Yellow Jackets were ranked No.1 nationally for several weeks, won the ODAC Tournament and advanced to the Division III Sweet Sixteen.

As a player, Rhoades was just as good. He won just about every award and accolade possible during his time at Lebanon Valley College, leading his team to league titles, conference championships and the 1994 NCAA Division III National Championship. He was a four-time conference all-star, two-time Region Player of the Year, Most Outstanding Player of the 1994 National Championship, First-Team All-American and a National Player of the Year.

Kevin Broderick, a Nazareth alumnus and head coach at Oswego State for the past 13 seasons, has been named head men’s basketball coach at Nazareth.

Broderick, a 1989 graduate, replaces Mike Daley, who stepped down last month after compiling a 318-284 record in 23 seasons. Broderick was chosen following an extensive search and was recommended by a nine-person committee that included Nazareth Sports Hall of Famer and former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy.

“Kevin Broderick is the right person to keep the Nazareth basketball program on the right track,” said Van Gundy, who has coached in the NBA for the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets and now serves as a television analyst for ESPN. “As a Nazareth alum, Kevin is a great fit in that the product he will be selling is one that he has already purchased for himself.”

Broderick inherits a Nazareth team that finished 13-14 overall in 2008-09 and finished fourth in the Empire 8 Conference standings. The Golden Flyers upset E8 regular-season champion Ithaca in the first round of the conference tournament, then lost to RIT in overtime in the tournament final.

A native of Fulton, N.Y., Broderick has a record of 209-150 at Oswego, including a 16-11 mark and the regular-season co-championship of the State University of New York Athletic Conference in 2008-09. He has coached the Lakers to eight straight winning seasons and has had 20-win campaigns in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2007-08. He also coached the Lakers to the ECAC Upstate title in ’04-05. He was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year in 1997-98 after taking the Lakers from a 5-19 record the previous season to a 16-13 mark in ’97-98.

Broderick’s coaching experience includes two seasons as an assistant coach at Canisius and one season each as an assistant at Genesee Community College, LeMoyne and Nazareth. At Canisius from 1994-96, Broderick worked under the direction of current Michigan and former Nazareth head coach John Beilein. In 1995-96, he helped the Griffins to a 19-11 record and the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 39 years.

As a basketball player, Broderick was a four-year member of Nazareth’s basketball team and was team captain as a senior in 1988-89. As the team’s starting point guard for two seasons, Broderick became renowned for his precise passing and he averaged 7.7 and 8.4 assists per game respectively for his last two seasons. He ranks third all-time in career assists at Nazareth with 460. As a Nazareth senior, Broderick was the recipient of the Robert A. Kidera Scholar-Athlete award, which recognizes academic and athletic excellence.

“We’re very pleased to have gotten a coach with Kevin’s experience,” said Nazareth athletic director Pete Bothner. “We believe that Kevin has the connections and the work ethic to keep us competing at a high level in men’s basketball for years to come.”

Broderick graduated from Nazareth with a degree in business education and a concentration in marketing. He has a master’s in counselor education from Oswego and a master’s in physical education from Canisius.