Sources: Calbert Cheaney, UE in serious talks for head coaching position
EVANSVILLE — Calbert Cheaney could be headed home.
He and the University of Evansville are in serious talks for Cheaney to become the next head men's basketball coach, sources tell the Courier & Press. The two parties are discussing finances to cover Cheaney's salary as well as his assistants.
UE is simultaneously contacting other coaches, including Walter McCarty (Celtics), Travis Steele (Xavier), Greg Gary (Purdue) and David Ragland (Valparaiso).
Cheaney remains the priority if he and UE can agree to terms.
Evansville is looking to hire its seventh coach in program history after firing Marty Simmons earlier this week, ending Simmons’ 11-year tenure at his alma mater. It was expected early on that Cheaney would be the favorite of UE athletic director Mark Spencer.
Cheaney, 46, is a former Evansville Harrison High and Indiana University star. As soon as news broke that UE had dismissed Simmons, people flocked to social media to suggest Cheaney, the 1993 Naismith College Player of the Year, as the replacement.
Spencer said he would “probably be dragged out of town” if he didn’t at least reach out.
WEBB:Come home, Calbert Cheaney, and coach the Aces
Cheaney starred at Indiana from 1989-93 under Bob Knight. He’s a three-time All-American and remains the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer with 2,613 career points. He led IU to a 105-27 record and the NCAA Tournament all four years, including a Final Four appearance in 1992.
“He’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever been around,” said his former IU teammate Pat Graham, who now lives in Evansville. “He’s a better person than a player, and he was as good of a player I ever played with.”
Cheaney went on to a have a 13-year NBA career with Washington, Boston, Denver, Utah and Golden State.
Upon retiring as a player, he served as a special assistant coach in Golden State for two seasons. He then returned to Indiana and served as Director of Basketball Operations and director of internal and external player development for two years under coach Tom Crean.
Cheaney last served as an assistant under former UE head coach Jim Crews from 2013-16 at Saint Louis University.
Last year, he told the Courier & Press he planned to stay in suburban St. Louis until his son, Julian, and daughter, Sydney, graduated from high school. Julian is a senior and Sydney a junior.
He also said that may change if he received a coaching offer he could not refuse. He earned $30 million in salary as an NBA player and has reportedly been frugal with his wealth.
Simmons was paid a base salary of $250,000 plus incentives back in 2015. As a private institution, UE is not required to divulge financial details.
Graham is confident Cheaney could run an NCAA Division I men's basketball program.
“He’s been around very good coaches since high school,” Graham said. “If he took just half of what he has been taught, he will do just fine.”
Cheaney’s homecoming also would spark interest. Evansville finished this past season 17-15 and went 7-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference. It hasn't made the NCAA Tournament or National Invitational Tournament in 19 years.
UE's average of 3,782 tickets sold per game this past season is the program’s lowest since the NCAA began tracking per-school attendance in 1978. UE ranked in the top 100 in the country in crowd size for 30 consecutive years before Simmons’ arrival and just once since then in ’09.
Graham understands the scope of what Cheaney’s influence would be if he indeed comes home. It’s been 30 years since Cheaney’s days as an Indiana All-Star at Harrison.
“The reality is today’s high school players don’t know who Calbert is,” Graham said. “Parents and grandparents do, but high school kids don’t know who Bob Knight or Calbert are. It’s a shame because what Calbert did here is out of this world, but we all get old and time moves on.”
Still, Cheaney's name holds cachet, especially locally. UE could need to fill up to nine scholarship positions before the start of the season, because a handful of Aces, including leading scorer Ryan Taylor, either have filed to transfer or have received permission to contact other schools.
Earlier this week, Spencer said “the sooner, the better” in regard to his ideal timeline of making a hire.
“He'll have a new staff to hire and will really need to hit the ground rolling,” Spencer said.
UE has hired a search committee of past players and longtime supporters to compile a list of candidates.
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