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| Jeff Boals Bio | ||||||||||
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Courtesy: Akron Media Relations Release: 11/01/2008 |
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Jeff Boals (pronounced BOWLS) is in his third season as a member of the Akron basketball staff, but is in the first with the title of associate head coach. He was promoted to his new position in September of 2008. Boals serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator and is also responsible for the development of the team’s post players. “One of the reasons this program has been so successful is because we have been able to maintain continuity within our staff,” Dambrot said. “Promoting Jeff in this way helps us continue to do that. Jeff is a great recruiter and has a tremendous relationship with our players. He was a hard-nosed, over-achieving player and those traits have rubbed off on our athletes. He also has great understanding of Mid-American Conference basketball.” Over the last two seasons, Boals has aided the Zips in winning a MAC East Division title (2007), making consecutive appearances in the MAC Tournament championship game (2007 and 2008) and advancing to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (2008). He also played a pivotal role in signing one of the largest recruiting classes in program history, as UA inked a group of five student-athletes during the November 2007 early period. The highlight of that class is guard Anthony “Humpty” Hitchens (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe HS) who is the highest-ranked freshman in the league, according to HoopScoopOnline.com. A native of Magnolia, Ohio, Boals joined the Zips program after spending two seasons (2004-05 and 2005-06) as the top assistant coach at Robert Morris. In his two seasons at RMU, Boals worked with the Colonials’ post players and served as recruiting coordinator. In 2005-06, RMU guard Jeremy Chappell was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year and selected as a Top 25 Freshman All-American by CollegeInsider.com. Part of a program turnaround orchestrated by head coach Mark Schmidt, the Colonials posted the program’s first winning record since 1999-2000, going 15-14 in 2005-06. Prior to his time at RMU, Boals spent the 2003-04 season as the associate head coach at Division II University of Charleston in Charleston, W.Va. During that time he was responsible for developing the Golden Eagles’ post and perimeter players, and oversaw the program’s recruiting effort. That was actually his second stint at the school, having been an assistant coach from 1996-99. During those three seasons the program recorded a 63-26 mark, and captured the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) tournament championship in 1999 to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament. The team was also ranked in the top 25 during the 1998-99 campaign, peaking as high as No. 11. Boals served as an assistant coach at former MAC institution Marshall from 1999-2003. He worked closely with the Thundering Herd’s recruiting during that time, helping the program land an incoming class that was regarded as the best in the league by several scouting services. A 1995 graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences, Boals was a four-year letterwinner on the Bobcats’ basketball team. Also a two-year captain, he helped guide OU to the 1994 MAC tournament and regular-season championships, the same season the program won the Preseason National Invitation Tournament. In the preseason NIT, the Bobcats notched road victories over Ohio State and Virginia before edging New Mexico State and George Washington at Madison Square Garden. Boals, who is working towards a master of athletics administration from Ohio, began his coaching career at OU as an assistant coach from 1995-96. Boals and his wife, Katie, have two children, Sydney (5) and Chase (2), and reside in Fairlawn. |
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