ACC veteran Al Skinner has been hired to become Kennesaw State’s next men’s basketball coach.
Skinner, for 13 years the coach of Boston College, replaces Jimmy Lallathin, who had been reassigned within the athletic department in early March without explanation from athletic director Vaughn Williams. Lallathin was removed after 1 1/2 season, including going 10-22 last year (4-10 in the Atlantic Sun Conference).
The combination of Williams’ efforts to elevate athletics and the university’s improving academic reputation drew Skinner to the job. He said he has turned down other head coach opportunities since being fired at Boston College in 2010. He will be introduced at KSU on Tuesday.
“Kennesaw is where I want to be,” said Skinner, who served as an assistant at Bryant the past two seasons. “I’m happy about it, excited about it. That’s very important to me is my comfort. I understand the job. I can coach basketball. But I want to be comfortable and happy and know what I’m dealing with.
“His (Williams’) genuine excitement for community, he’s injected that into me. Potential can be a terrible word, but Kennesaw has it. We have to fulfill that. That’s our goal.”
Skinner coached Boston College from 1997-2010, leading the Eagles to the NCAA tournament seven times. In addition to his time at Rhode Island from 1988-97, he has a career record of 385-291. He was twice named Big East coach of the year (2001, ‘05), as well as the Atlantic 10 coach of the year (2001).
“Coach Skinner embodies every value, characteristic and skill set that we look for when choosing head coaches to lead our student-athletes,” Williams said in a statement.
Skinner said he has no concerns that he will be the program’s third coach in three years, following Lallathin, who replaced Lewis Preston mid-season in 2013-14. The Owls were 6-25 in 2013-14 and 3-27 in 2012-13. He said adjustments need to be made in the move from Division II to Division I and while some of the school’s other teams have had success in the transition, “just in men’s basketball, it hasn’t taken root,” Skinner said.
While Skinner has no family or past employment ties to metro Atlanta, he has recruited the area.
“I’d like to believe I do have a national reputation, so I can recruit outside of the area,” he said. “We want a team to have success and represent the university well. We’d like to do it locally but the most important thing is to get it done.”
Skinner said he will meet with Williams — they worked together when Williams worked at Boston College — and the assistant coaches to decide if he will retain any of them. Assistant David Rivers served as the program’s the interim coach.
“We all have to work together,” he said. “We win together and lose together. Losing is tougher than winning. You want individuals with character and loyalty to work through tough times.”
Though Skinner is known for running a flex offense, he said he needs to and analyze his player’s talents before deciding what he will run.He points out he has won with strong guard play at Rhode Island and strong forwards and centers at Boston College.
Skinner’s hire indicates Kennesaw State has completed an internal review of the program that had been ongoing for almost a month following Lallathin’s reassignment. He resigned last week. Williams has repeatedly declined to explain the reason for the review.
