Colonials a dream job for ex-Catholic coach
When Mike Lonergan was an undergraduate at Catholic, he used to hop on the Metro and venture across town to watch George Washington play in Foggy Bottom. And his eyes weren’t always on the court.
Recommended Stories
“What I most remember is watching my childhood hero, coach Red Auerbach, up in the stands watching the games,” Lonergan said. “I probably looked at him more than the games themselves.”
Now Lonergan finds himself in his idol’s former job, though he wasn’t doing any hopping Monday when he was introduced as GW’s men’s basketball coach. Lonergan hobbled into Smith Center on crutches, having recently undergone surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee. Yet he did so with a sense of assuredness that the Bowie native’s return to the District for his dream job means the Colonials are through limping around as a program.
| GW notes |
| » Mike Lonergan expects to complete his coaching staff in the coming weeks. Former assistant Steve Howes, who succeeded Lonergan as the coach at Catholic, said “no comment” when asked whether he was being considered for a move to Foggy Bottom. Hajj Turner, one of Lonergan’s assistants at Vermont, was also in attendance. |
| » Longeran said he has told all three members of George Washington’s current recruiting class that he would like them to come to the District. The trio includes forward Erik Copes, the nephew of Roland Houston, a GW assistant under former coach Karl Hobbs. The status of both remains uncertain. |
“I think it is a good time,” Lonergan said. “It’s interesting what’s going on with Coach [Gary] Williams retiring. I was surprised by it, and Coach [Jim] Larranaga, I didn’t think he would make a move. I’m excited. I’m hoping all the other local hires are not local guys.”
Neither Paul Hewitt at George Mason nor whomever Maryland chooses will have a foundation in the District to match Lonergan, who was schooled in area basketball well before playing at Archbishop Carroll High and Catholic. He also spent 12 years coaching his college alma mater, winning a Division III championship in 2001. In eighth grade he decided to be a coach after reading legendary former DeMatha coach Morgan Wootten’s book, “From Orphans to Champions.”
“Through the two-week search, he was educating me more on GW than I was educating him on GW,” incoming Colonials athletic director Patrick Nero said.
Lonergan’s mentors range from Wootten to Williams, with whom he spent one season as an assistant coach for the Terrapins, a stint that paved the way for his hiring by Vermont. He was 126-68 in six seasons with the Catamounts before unprecedented coaching turnover hastened his return to the nation’s capital.
“People said I was too selective and too choosy and that I was going to be stuck in Vermont the rest of my life, and I had no problem with that,” Lonergan said. “And then this week I got a lot of texts … [that] said, ‘Hey, it worked out for you. You were right. You waited and got the one you wanted.’?”
