Barron Names Reed Among New Staff

New UMaine men's basketball coach Richard Barron has completed his search for his assistant coaching staff.

Barron and the UMaine athletics department has released details of that staff.

"In choosing a staff, I felt it was very important to hire people who love Maine, our university and our community," said Barron. "I wanted people who understand our challenges and the opportunities that we have here to build a successful program. I also wanted people who would be comfortable working for me and could relate well to our student-athletes. And finally, I looked for coaches who bring strong recruiting connections and a track record of player development. I am very proud of the staff we have assembled and look forward to working together to build upon the hard work of those that have come before us." - UMaine Press Release

Assistant Coach Kevin Reed: A former Black Bear guard who scored over 1,600 points in his four year career at UMaine. Reed had been coach and athletic director at Bangor Christian High School.

Assistant Coach Edniesha Curry: She joins the UMaine staff as the only woman currently serving as a full-time assistant coach on a NCAA D-I men's team. She is a former assistant women's coach under Barron at Maine. Curry played overseas and in the WNBA. She returns to Orono after working with the NBA Assistant Coaches Program.

Assistant Coach Igor Vrzina: He has been Lee Academy prep team head coach for the past four years. The Black Bears have had several players who played at Lee Academy before joining the UMaine program. Vrzina is a former captain at Abilene Christian University.

Director of Basketball Operations Jason Coleman: The former Orono High School basketball coach has coached AAU hoops in Maine, South Carolina and Indiana. Coleman has also been an assistant football coach at the high school and college level.

Richard Barron was named new UMaine men's coach on March 5th. He coached the women's program at Maine from 2011 to 2017 before taking a leave of absence in January of '17. He replaces Bob Walsh who had been men's coach for the past four years.