Mike Byrnes departing for Rhode Island College

[Andrew_Chiappazzi]

The Providence Journal is reporting that Robert Morris assistant Mike Byrnes will be named the head coach at Division III Rhode Island College on Wednesday.

Byrnes has spent the last four years as an assistant to Andy Toole. Prior to being hired when Toole took the job, Byrnes had been the head coach at the famed Winchendon School, a prep school that churned out a number of elite college players. He's a New England guy - born in Canton, Massachusetts - and went to UMass. A move back closer to his roots isn't surprising, especially for a head coaching gig.

It'll be interesting to see which direction Toole goes to fill Byrnes' spot. Byrnes worked a lot with the big men and also seemed to be the point man on a number of junior college recruits. He was the one who spotted Karvel Anderson's tape and initiated RMU's pursuit there.

There are still quite a few moving parts in the college basketball world, so there should be a decent number of candidates for the position. Robert Morris has made itself into an attractive mid-major, so we'll see where this leads.

 

[GoRMU]

It will be interesting to see who Coach Toole hires to replace Mike Byrnes. Tim Lawrence is qualified to be moved up and would do a great job, but it seems that a staff should have a big man to coach the big men. I believe all of the remaining coaches played guard in college. Although I realize they all have the knowledge to coach any position, if you're a 6'9" power forward/center you probably would prefer to have at least one coach on the staff that has played a big man the position. Coach Toole has a lot of contacts in the coaching profession and without a doubt there are a lot of good coaches that would love to be on his staff. Byrnes is a big loss, but I would expect Toole to bring in another excellent coach to fill the position

 

[Carlester]

Congrats to Coach Byrnes -great opportunity with a great program. He was a key contributor to our success and will be missed.