2008 Woodie Awards
Ford tapped to coach Kent basketball
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Sports
KENT, Ohio - Geno Ford slid over and into Kent State's top chair.
Ford, an assistant coach during a chunk of the school's 10-year run of 20-win seasons, was named the Golden Flashes' new coach on Tuesday. He takes over for Jim Christian, who resigned last week after six seasons and is heading to TCU.
The 33-year-old Ford signed a four-year contract with the school holding an option on a fifth year. He'll make approximately $200,000 per season.
A scrappy star guard at Ohio, Ford was an assistant for four seasons on Christian's staff. He inherits a program that has become the standard of excellence in the highly competitive Mid-American Conference. This season, Kent State went 28-7, won the MAC East's regular-season title and conference tournament to earn its fifth NCAA bid in 10 years.
Christian went 138-58 at Kent State, becoming the only MAC coach to win 20 games in his first six seasons. Like Ford, he was as assistant with the Golden Flashes before getting the job when Stan Heath left for Arkansas following Kent State's memorable run to the final eight in the 2002 NCAA tournament.
"A lot of times when you get a job, you take a job that is rebuilding or someone has been relieved of their duties and you have to clean up the mess," Ford said. "I'm following someone who cast the biggest shadow over the conference in history. Coach Christian taught me a lot. I certainly tried to learn. I'm honored to get the chance to follow him."
When it appeared Christian was leaving, athletic director Laing Kennedy immediately turned to Ford, who had head coaching experience at NAIA Shawnee State and Division III Muskingum.
"I called him at 2 a.m.," Kennedy recalled. "I said, 'If I can't sleep, you can't either.' I want to talk to you before you do anything. We need to talk about this program A through Z, and what we need to do to move forward."
Kennedy said Ford, who had been scheduled to interview with Western Illinois, was unanimously endorsed by Kent State's players. Kennedy said Christian often turned to his top assistant for advice during crucial moments in games.
"They said several times coach Christian would look to coach Ford and say, 'We've got to stop them, and coach Ford's system would be put in place and we would stop them,'" Kennedy said. On Tuesday, Ford formally interviewed with Kennedy, school president Lester A. Lefton and others. During the meeting, Ford, the 1993 Associated Press Mr. Basketball in Ohio from Cambridge High School, laid out his immediate and future plans for the Golden Flashes' program.
Ford, an assistant coach during a chunk of the school's 10-year run of 20-win seasons, was named the Golden Flashes' new coach on Tuesday. He takes over for Jim Christian, who resigned last week after six seasons and is heading to TCU.
The 33-year-old Ford signed a four-year contract with the school holding an option on a fifth year. He'll make approximately $200,000 per season.
A scrappy star guard at Ohio, Ford was an assistant for four seasons on Christian's staff. He inherits a program that has become the standard of excellence in the highly competitive Mid-American Conference. This season, Kent State went 28-7, won the MAC East's regular-season title and conference tournament to earn its fifth NCAA bid in 10 years.
Christian went 138-58 at Kent State, becoming the only MAC coach to win 20 games in his first six seasons. Like Ford, he was as assistant with the Golden Flashes before getting the job when Stan Heath left for Arkansas following Kent State's memorable run to the final eight in the 2002 NCAA tournament.
"A lot of times when you get a job, you take a job that is rebuilding or someone has been relieved of their duties and you have to clean up the mess," Ford said. "I'm following someone who cast the biggest shadow over the conference in history. Coach Christian taught me a lot. I certainly tried to learn. I'm honored to get the chance to follow him."
When it appeared Christian was leaving, athletic director Laing Kennedy immediately turned to Ford, who had head coaching experience at NAIA Shawnee State and Division III Muskingum.
"I called him at 2 a.m.," Kennedy recalled. "I said, 'If I can't sleep, you can't either.' I want to talk to you before you do anything. We need to talk about this program A through Z, and what we need to do to move forward."
Kennedy said Ford, who had been scheduled to interview with Western Illinois, was unanimously endorsed by Kent State's players. Kennedy said Christian often turned to his top assistant for advice during crucial moments in games.
"They said several times coach Christian would look to coach Ford and say, 'We've got to stop them, and coach Ford's system would be put in place and we would stop them,'" Kennedy said. On Tuesday, Ford formally interviewed with Kennedy, school president Lester A. Lefton and others. During the meeting, Ford, the 1993 Associated Press Mr. Basketball in Ohio from Cambridge High School, laid out his immediate and future plans for the Golden Flashes' program.
Be the first to comment on this story