LMU BASKETBALL NEWS
LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Sports Release March 19, 2008
Schertz To Begin New Era In LMU Men’s Basketball
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HARROGATE, TN – Following an extensive search that included more than 160 applications, Lincoln Memorial University athletics department officials will announce Thursday morning the addition of Josh Schertz as the University’s new head men’s basketball coach. Schertz will become the 17th head coach in the program’s storied history that spans nearly 100 years.
A native of New York, Schertz comes to Lincoln Memorial University after spending five seasons as a member of NCAA Division I High Point University’s coaching staff. In June 2004 he was named Associate Head Coach and played a pivotal role in the rapid ascension of the Panther men’s basketball program.
While at High Point University, the basketball program has been on a record-setting pace including the 2006-07 season in which HPU won a school Division I record 22 games as well as establishing a new program high with 11 conference wins. This season High Point ended the year with a 61-53 loss to Winthrop in the Big South Semifinals.
Over the last five years, Schertz has helped guide High Point to a total of 87 wins, eclipsing the total of just 47 wins for the program during the previous five-year span. “We’re very excited to have Coach Schertz join our program at LMU,” said University Athletics Director Roger Vannoy. “He is great on paper and in person and has a great track record with proven success. He has proven that he is a solid recruiter and brings a lot of energy to the Railsplitter basketball program. With Coach Schertz at the helm, we are very excited about the future of Lincoln Memorial University men’s basketball.”
Success on the recruiting trail has paid dividends not only in on court victories, but also in a number of High Point players earning postseason accolades. Two players, Danny Gathings (2004) and Arizona Reid (2007), were named Big South Player of the Year. Reid was also named to the NABC All-District Team this season, and three freshman, Reid (2005), Justin Dunn (2006), and Eugene Harris (2007), received All-Freshman team recognition over the past five seasons.
Prior to
coming to High Point, Schertz served as the Associate Head Coach at Queens
University of Charlotte, North Carolina, helping lead the Royals to a
two-year mark of 49-14 including a school record 29-4 mark in 2003. That
2003 season culminated in the schools first ever trip to the NCAA Division
II Final Four. As the program's recruiting coordinator, Schertz made a huge
impact signing 2004 National Division II Player of the Year Spencer Ross
along with two-time national shot block leader Moustapha Diouf and 2003 CVAC
Freshman of the Year Kendrick Harris. Schertz also served as a professor in
the Queens' physical education department and was the Head Coach of Queens'
junior varsity program.
Before joining Queens, Schertz spent two years at Lynn University (Fla.)
serving as the Fighting Knights recruiting coordinator. He helped guide Lynn
to a 37-18 mark as well as a top-5 national ranking. While at Lynn, Schertz
signed 2001 National Division II Freshman of the Year Leandro
Garcia-Morales. His final signing class before moving to Queens may have
been his lasting legacy as the five-man group went on to become the most
successful group of players in Lynn history. That group included James
Taylor (all-time leading scorer) Justin Wingard (all-time leading rebounder
and shot blocker) Austin Faber (all-time leader in assists and steals) and
Akil Lewis (all-time leader in made three-pointers), who as seniors formed
the nucleus of Lynn's school record-setting squad that tallied 29 wins and
earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Final Four in 2005. While at Lynn,
Schertz signed two players named Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the
Year, Garcia-Morales (2001) and Taylor (2002), as well as four players who
went on to earn all-conference honors.
Schertz, a 2000 graduate of Florida Atlantic, began his coaching career as
an assistant at his alma mater during the 1999-2000 season. Coach Schertz
has two sons, Jordan (11) and Jaden (5), and is engaged to Natalia Ceballos.
-LMU-
For additional
comments please contact,
Men's Head Coach: Josh Schertz
Phone: (423) 869-6240