Craig Carey Elevated To Assistant Coach

By
Greg Hunter
-

Craig Carey Elevated To Assistant Coach

The Mountaineer women’s basketball team has a new assistant coach with a familiar last name.

Craig Carey, who previously had served as the video coordinator for WVU’s women’s basketball program, has been elevated to assistant coach for the 2019-20 season. Craig is the son of West Virginia’s women’s head coach Mike Carey.

“Craig has been with the program for many years, starting as a practice player and later as our video coordinator,” Mike Carey said. “He knows the players, our style of play and our personnel very well. I think it will be a smooth transition and a great fit for our program.”

Joining the women’s basketball staff in 2015, Craig has served as the video coordinator since then. In that role, he acted as the liaison for film exchange with opponents, helped coaches prepare for scouting and provided video for instructional purposes. Additionally, he supervised and prepared the Mountaineers’ practice players and has stepped in as an interim/countable assistant coach on several occasions over the past four years.

From 2009-15, Carey served as the assistant camp coordinator for the program’s summer basketball camps. He helped to organize the structure of individual and team camps, serving also as a clinician.

“I’m thankful to Director of Athletics Shane Lyons, Senior Associate AD Terri Howes and, of course, my dad for this great opportunity,” said Craig Carey. “I’ve enjoyed being a part of success in the past and look forward to what we can do in the future. WVU is home to me, and I can’t think of a better place to start my coaching career.”

The Clarksburg, West Virginia, native spent his collegiate career as a student worker and practice player for the Mountaineers. As a student worker, Carey assisted with office duties, provided information in accordance with NCAA and Big 12 regulations for recruitment, assisted with recruiting visits and organized recruiting mail. Additionally, he played for coach Bob Huggins as a member of the WVU men’s basketball program during the 2010-11 season.

Craig Carey is a two-time graduate of West Virginia University, earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology in 2012 before completing a master’s in sports management in 2015.

Craig is the latest hire for Mike Carey. He also added former North Carolina assistant Bett Shelby last month. The staff changes came about when it was decided not to renew the contracts of former WVU assistant coaches Chester Nichols and Lester Rowe, who have reportedly landed jobs with the women’s basketball programs at Wichita State and Northern Kentucky respectively.

 

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  • This topic has 7 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated by ButlereerButlereer.
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  • June 21, 2019 at 3:44 pm #93092
    Greg HunterGreg Hunter

    Craig Carey Elevated To Assistant Coach The Mountaineer women’s basketball team has a new assistant coach with a familiar last name. Craig Carey, who
    [See the full post at: Craig Carey Elevated To Assistant Coach]

    June 22, 2019 at 5:23 pm #93135
    ButlereerButlereer

    Many people will have mixed feelings about this hire.   First time as floor coach.  Nepotism?  Wasn’t there another experienced coach available?  Couldn’t fine a coach that had recruiting ties?  It’s not like we have unlimited spots to hire coaches.  Hey, he just may turn out to be a great hire.

    June 23, 2019 at 12:03 am #93155
    Paul Southerly

    I remember an interview with carey….. he stated the first question he asked an asst coach candidate was what recruiting area could they bring to the program…… I cant see how his son could answer that in away that would make him the number one candidate…. lester rowe goes for the coaches son with no experience is laughable…. makes me think alot less of lyons for letting him do this bs

    June 23, 2019 at 7:14 am #93164
    Kevin KinderKevin Kinder

    Greg has more insight on this topic than I do, but from my point I think this was a cood bit about recruiting. WVU has gotten some talented players, but as some have pointed out here, it hasn’t been enough to weather injury problems or fashion a deep NCAA run.

    I’m not supporting or criticizing this call, but I think it shows that there was a perception of a problem in an area, and an attempt was made to fix it.

    I also think in any hiring situation, there’s always a different angle to take if there’s unhappiness about it. If you like a new young hire, you can say he’s aggressive and can connect with recruits. If you don’t, you can note that he has no experience. Not jumping on anyone’s viewpoint here – I have no idea how Craig will pan out, or the other new hires coming into the program.

     

    June 23, 2019 at 1:36 pm #93183
    Greg HunterGreg Hunter

    From what I understand, Mike Carey wanted to shake up his staff because he felt the recruiting hadn’t been producing what he wanted. I’ll admit the timing of this shake-up seems a little odd considering WVU’s incoming class is rated as one of the best during Carey’s 18 years at WVU, including two top 100 players – No. 51 Kirsten Deans, a point guard from North Carolina, and No. 83 Leilani Correa, a shooting guard from New Jersey. Still, Mike apparently thought things needed to get better, so he’s bringing in two new coaches, Bett Shelby and Craig Carey. He’s the head coach and he has the right to construct his staff how he sees fit. I’ve met Craig, and he seems like a good person and hard worker, but I’ll admit I don’t know what kind of coach he’ll be, because he doesn’t really have a track record to go on. In this instance, WVU fans have to put their faith in Mike Carey, and that he believes his son Craig will be a good hire. In knowing Mike the way I do, he wouldn’t hire Craig or anyone else if he didn’t think it would have a positive effect on the program. He’s not doing this just to help a family member but to help the team as a whole; I believe this 100 percent. The Mountaineer athletic department administration, including A.D. Shane Lyons, also had to sign off on this hire, so they must believe Craig is a good choice as well. We’ll see how it ultimately works out, and we’ll be able to judge that by the recruits the coaches are able to land. WVU’s women’s program has had very good top-end players over the years, but certainly its depth has often been an issue. Mike’s staff needs to find enough quality recruits to provide the needed depth.

    June 24, 2019 at 3:22 pm #93250
    ButlereerButlereer

    Kevin, Greg.

    Both of you seemed to skirt around the subject.  Not a glowing acceptance nor a rejection of Carey’s hire.

    June 24, 2019 at 6:32 pm #93260
    WVFaninMI

    My father got me a job with the multi-national company for which he worked.  He told me when I got back from filling out all the paperwork in HR, that the very least of my worries was my new boss.  He said that he’d already put in 30 years with the company and he had a sterling reputation and that BY GOD if I did anything at all that reflected poorly upon him, that he’d have me out the door in less than 5 minutes and then I could give my soul to God because he was going to have my a$$.

    Me thinks Craig will have to perform at a higher level than that Mike expects out of any of his other coaches and staff.  And I’d bet a good amount of money that I’m correct in that assumption.

    June 25, 2019 at 9:08 am #93280
    ButlereerButlereer

    Somehow I just don’t think these jobs were on the same level.  Even Women’s BB is big business.  At the D1 level there are many qualified coaches that have vast floor experience and recruiting contacts across the country.  Young Carey may have limited spot floor coaching experience for a few games here and there.  From what is printed the main reason for shaking up the staff is to elevate the recruiting.  Hiring an entry level assistant does nothing to fill that void.

    Greg Hunter posted: “From what I understand, Mike Carey wanted to shake up his staff because he felt the recruiting hadn’t been producing what he wanted.”

    Granted, Young Carey may have more energy to go out on the road and talk to more recruits.  But recruiting days are limited and most of the legwork and itinerary is done well before they leave Morgantown and also by other staff members.  The biggest and most productive part of recruiting is having the relationships with coaches across the country.  That is the part that will open the doors to get you in.  If not, you’re spending lots of valuable time just trying to get a coach to return your call.  Relate this to a sales position.  You don’t hire National Sales Managers that have little to no experience.  You hire them for their contact list.

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