John Rhodes, an assistant at Division I Northeastern, has been named head men’s basketball coach at Ohio Northern.
“Getting the opportunity to coach at Ohio Northern makes this the most memorable Memorial Day for my family and I,” Rhodes said. “It is a humbling experience to follow in the footsteps of such great coaches as Gale Daugherty, Joe Campoli and Jeff Coleman. I’m excited to grow the passion for ONU. The reputation of this school precedes it. I started looking at ONU and it didn’t take long to figure out that this is a great place to be. We look forward to helping our young players reach their potential. We are going to play hard and have some fun.”
Ohio Northern finished 18-9 this past season. Coleman stepped down after compiling a 73-34 mark in four seasons.
Northeastern finished the 2008-09 season with a 19-13 record and a third place finish in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 12-6 mark.
Rhodes spent nine seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, Ohio University, from 1999-2004 before being named the associate head coach prior to the 2004-05 season. While at Ohio, Rhodes helped lead the Bobcats to winning seasons in seven of his nine years, including four seasons in a row from 2004-08.
Ohio made the postseason twice in Rhodes’ tenure, winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament during the 2004-05 season and earning a berth to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in 2007-08.
Before coaching, Rhodes played professional basketball in Europe for eight years, making stops in Germany, France and Iceland. In 1992, he was named the Icelandic Basketball League’s Most Valuable Player.
Rhodes was a four-year letterman for Ohio from 1984-88. A star center for the Bobcats, Rhodes served as team captain was named second-team All-MAC his senior year. In the Ohio career record books, he ranks third in field goal percentage (.567), fourth in blocked shots (121), and 10th in rebounds (744).
A Milwaukee native, Rhodes graduated from Ohio in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Public Relations.