Dayton hires Mich. St. assistant Gregory

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Brian Gregory learned a lot as an assistant coach at Michigan State and is ready to apply those lessons at Dayton.

Gregory will succeed Oliver Purnell as coach of the Flyers, the university announced Wednesday. Purnell left Dayton last week after nine seasons to become coach at Clemson.

"There is a system. I've been mentored by some of the best," said Gregory, 36, who has worked for nine years at Michigan State under coaches Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo. "I feel very fortunate to know the blueprint."

Ted Kissell, Dayton's athletic director, focused his attention on Gregory and Dayton assistant Ron Jirsa after Purnell left. Kissell interviewed both men in New Orleans last weekend during the NCAA Tournament.

Gregory has been with the Spartans twice, with his most recent stint lasting four seasons, the last two of them as associate coach. He helped recruit four McDonald's All-Americans for Michigan State during the past three years.

Gregory also was a Michigan State assistant from 1990 to 1996, then spent a year as an assistant at Toledo and another year as an assistant and recruiting coordinator at Northwestern under Kevin O'Neill. He rejoined the Michigan State staff for the 1999-2000 season.

"There is no question if an athletic director is looking for a coach to lead their program that Brian Gregory is a great choice," Izzo wrote on the Michigan State Web site. "He has demonstrated exceptional ability in recruiting, game preparation and strategy and organizational skills."

Gregory became an attractive coaching candidate in part because of what former assistants under Izzo have done.

Tom Crean led Marquette to the Final Four this season in his third year as a head coach. Stan Heath was hired by Arkansas last year after leading Kent State to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

Sean Finn, a 6-foot-11 junior center at Dayton, said Gregory met with the team Wednesday and discussed his goals, which included repeating as Atlantic 10 Conference champions and advancing in the NCAA tournament.

"He knows what it takes because he's been in those kinds of situations," Finn said.

Keith Waleskowski, a 6-9 junior forward, said Gregory wants to build a tough, physical, high-intensity team.

"He told us were going to knock you down, help you back up, smile at you and knock you right back down," Waleskowski said. "He said he's going to be very demanding of us."

Gregory, a native of Mt. Prospect, Ill., played with David Robinson at Navy and was a member of the 1986 Navy team that was 30-5 and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. Gregory later transferred to Oakland University in Michigan, where he became the school's assists leader.

Gregory said he had his eye on the Dayton job for some time.

"That dream is realized today. I can't tell you how excited I am about that," he said. "I'm going to hit the floor running with our current players, with recruiting and in the community. I've been taught by some of the best. I'm looking forward to bringing that here."

Purnell, 49, guided Dayton to a 24-6 record and the Atlantic 10 championship this year. The Flyers lost to Tulsa in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but were ranked as high as No. 16 in The Associated Press poll.

Purnell came to Dayton in 1994 from Old Dominion, inheriting a program that had won a total of 17 games in the previous four seasons.

He guided the Flyers to a 155-116 mark, leading them to two appearances in the NCAA tournament and three NIT appearances. They won at least 20 games in each of the last four seasons and five out of the last six.

"I do believe there is a stable and solid foundation here," Gregory said. "I'm really looking forward to and excited about building that championship program."

 

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