UMKC, George Washington and Appalachian State head coaches fired

Three more mid-major head coaching positions opened up between Thursday night and Friday afternoon, as UMKC, George Washington and Appalachian State have parted ways with Kareem Richardson, Maurice Joseph and Jim Fox, respectively:

• Kareem Richardson led the UMKC program for six seasons, going 75-118 during his tenure and reaching one postseason tournament (2017 CBI). He arrived in KC in 2013 after fifteen years as an assistant coach, including a stint at Louisville for the Cardinals (now vacated) 2013 NCAA title and a previous year working at UMKC. While the on-court results of the last two seasons certainly support a change in leadership, it is a bit of surprise that Richardson has been cut loose just two years removed from the first D-I postseason appearance in program history.
  • Names to keep an eye on for UMKC: Chris Lowery (Kansas State assistant, former Southern Illinois head coach); Paul Lusk (Creighton assistant, former Missouri State head coach); Chris Hollender (Missouri assistant, formerly at UMKC, Mississippi State, Evansville)
• Maurice Joseph had been on the George Washington staff since 2011, joining Mike Lonergan‘s staff as assistant director of basketball operations. He worked his way up to full-time assistant by 2013 and in July 2016 when tapped to take over as the Colonials’ head coach in the aftermath of Lonergan’s controversial firing. Despite still being new to coaching, Joseph signed a new deal in March 2017 to be the permanent head coach. However, after winning 20 games in year one, Joseph’s teams are just 24-42 and this year finished 12th in the A-10 at 4-14 (9-24 overall).
  • Names to keep an eye on for GW: Michael Huger (Bowling Green head coach, former George Mason and Longwood assistant); Carmen Maciariello (Siena assistant, spent four years at GWU); Rasheen Davis (UMass assistant with a lot of A-10 recruiting ties/experience)
• Jim Fox arrived at App State in 2014 after spending the previous 13 seasons on Bob McKillop‘s staff at Davidson. In five seasons at the helm, Fox led the Mountaineers to a 56-99 overall record and failed to reach the postseason or finish higher than a tie for 5th in the Sun Belt. App State hasn’t been to the NCAAs since 2000 but had been performing consistently better on the court in the years prior to Fox’s arrival than after.
  • Names to keep an eye on for App State: Nate James (Duke associate head coach, played for Coach K and been on his staff since 2008); Jareem Dowling (North Texas assistant, formerly at Morehead State, Southern Miss); Scott Cherry (former High Point head coach, played at UNC)

credit to Matthew Hicks/UMKC Athletics, Jessica Hill/AP, Mitchell Layton/Getty Images for photos