Dempsey's the Pick
Familiar face loses interim tag

By Cara Latham

Tommy Dempsey’s title as interim head coach for the men’s basketball team was finally upgraded to the highly-regarded designation as permanent head coach yesterday.

During a public press conference in the Athletic Department’s Hall of Fame Center at 12:30 p.m., newly appointed Athletic Director Don Harnum announced Dempsey as the new head coach for the men’s basketball team, effective immediately.

The announcement comes just two weeks after Harnum was named the permanent Athletic Director after a nation-wide search among a pool of candidates.

During the press conference, which was abruptly announced Wednesday, Harnum said Dempsey was a good fit for the team.

“It’s a feel for the person,” said Harnum. “I could tell he had a feel for people and a feel for the game. If you talk to [graduate] Jerry Johnson or graduate Robert Taylor, they swear by him. I was so confident in him I turned them over to him.”

Dempsey took the reins as interim head coach of the team when it was announced last year that Harnum, the former head coach, would replace Curt Blake as interim Athletic Director.
Dempsey struggled in his first year with the youthful team. Despite the team’s mediocre season, with a record of 8-20 and after being shut down during the first game in the MAAC Tournament, Harnum is confident that Dempsey will be able to strengthen the young team because of what he’s seen from Dempsey since he hired him in 2003.

“I’ve known him a long time and I give him a lot of credit for our run to the MAAC Championship two seasons ago,” said Harnum. “I give him a lot of credit for getting us over the hump in the playoffs.”

Dempsey is also confident that this season’s record will not overshadow the way the team prepares for next season.

“We’re not going to hide behind the fact that we had a disappointing season in this year of transition,” he said. “It did not break us.”

The announcement of Dempsey’s position comes as the Broncs are recruiting new players for the upcoming season. Dempsey said he thinks finding new players will improve upon the disappointing performance this season.

“Things will change in a hurry, especially in recruiting,” he said. “In the time of closing the deal, it is very important for kids to know I’m their coach. We should get some very exciting news in the next few weeks.”

The team will also be stronger because of the amount of experience current players have gained this season, he said.

“We expect success right away, not only because of the recruiting class, but also the starters will be more ready to play,” said Dempsey.

Contrary to The Trenton Times’ April 5 article, Tyrone Louis, a high school senior from Philadelphia, was not an attempted recruit by Rider because of his academic standing. But, on board for next year is sophomore Jason Thompson’s younger brother, Ryan, who recently signed a letter of intent to play for Rider next year.

“I just talked to Ryan yesterday,” said Dempsey. “He just told me he’s very excited and can’t wait.”

Even though he is anticipating a better team, Dempsey said he couldn’t make promises or speculate about what the team’s record would look like next year. He said he also couldn’t promise how many NCAA championships in which the team will participate in the future, but he said that he “was very confident because coach Harnum has confidence in [him]” and because of their relationship.

Harnum met Dempsey five years ago, but didn’t hire him right away.

“I didn’t hire him because I thought he was overqualified,” said Harnum.

But, when Dempsey interviewed to be Rider’s third assistant coach while Harnum was the head assistant, Harnum assured him that he would become a top assistant when the opportunity presented itself.

Dempsey said he knew Rider was a perfect fit for him.

“I knew the first time I walked around campus with then Head Coach Harnum and walked around and met people, I knew I was at the right place,” said Dempsey. “I think [about] how many people in college basketball would like to trade places with me. It’s very
humbling.”