Pat Knapp -- the former Penn women's basketball coach of much wit but not enough wins -- has signed on as an assistant with the University of Hawaii.
"He will provide an increased geography base in the recruiting department as he is well respected on the East Coast," first-year coach Dana Takahara-Dias told the Honolulu Advertiser. "He comes with skills that can help us off the bat."
Penn decided in March not to renew Knapp's contract. In his five years at the helm, the Quakers were 48-90 (.348) overall and 28-42 (.400) in the Ivy League. Athletic Director Steve Bilsky said in a press release at the time that "We are disappointed that we did not attain the levels of success we anticipated." Knapp declined comment upon his departure.
Still, Knapp's latest stop comes as a bit as a surprise. No doubt the weather is beautiful down in the Aloha State. But Knapp was a head coach for 26 seasons, including 18 at Georgetown. He won two Big East championships and was the 1992-93 Big East Coach of the Year.
Now he'll be sitting second-chair to someone with no collegiate coaching experience. And, at least to my knowledge, Hawaii is not a step up on the ladder. The school was 300th in last year's year-end RPI rankings -- 20 spots below Knapp's 9-19 Quakers.
Meanwhile, the Penn program -- now led by Mike McLaughlin -- announced its 2009-10 schedule today.
Knapp is set to begin his new job on Monday.
(HT: Brandon Moyse)
Tags: pat knapp, Women's Basketball
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September 25th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
David(Ben):
Thank for the interesting piece about former WBB Coach Knapp:
I do think this statement should be reconsidered:
"And, at least to my knowledge, Hawaii is not a step up on the ladder"
It sure beats the other option of going w/o employment.
Minor nitpick, but thought i would weigh in.
Bravo to you, young man for the excellent job all week long! You
have really delivered some great info and insights...
FOJL