April 7, 2006
First-year Duquesne head men's basketball coach Ron Everhart has named Kim Lewis, Daryn Freedman and Richard Pitino as assistant coaches and Anthony Serro as director of basketball operations. The four-man staff all worked under Everhart last season at Northeastern University in Boston.
"I am very happy to be able to keep my staff intact," said Everhart who was named DU's head coach on March 29. "This is a group of guys who are very loyal, hardworking and trustworthy. In that regard it makes it a very easy transition. They've hit the ground running. They've gotten a great start on recruiting, been monitoring study hall and conducting individual workouts. They're really excited to be at Duquesne University and most importantly they're very much looking forward to the challenge of recruiting at the Atlantic 10 level."
This will be Lewis' third season as an assistant under Everhart. The 33-year-old Angie, La. native, who worked for two years at Northeastern, also worked as an assistant at both McNeese State (2003-04) and Xavier (La.) (2002-03).
Lewis began his association with Everhart as a player at Tulane University from 1991-95. Everhart - who was an assistant coach for the Green Wave from 1988-89 through 1993-94 - and Lewis, were part of an NCAA Tournament team in 1991-92 and an NIT team in 1993-94. Lewis made a return NCAA appearance as a senior in 1994-95.
Lewis enjoyed a standout career at Tulane where he ranks as the school's 11th all-time leading scorer. He still holds school career records for steals and games played and also ranks on various individual and career lists for 3-pointers made, attempted and percentage as well as free throws made and attempted.
Lewis, who was named Tulane's T-Club Male Athlete of the Year in 1994-95, completed his bachelor's degree in communications in 1994.
Freedman joined Everhart's staff prior to this season at Northeastern. The 29-year-old Sharon, Mass. native was the head coach at Brimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill, Mass. for four seasons prior to accepting the position at Northeastern. Freedman, who also served as the President of the New England Prep School Men's Basketball Coaches Association for two years during his tenure at Brimmer and May, began his coaching career as a student assistant under John Calipari at the University of Massachusetts where he accompanied UMass teams to the 1995 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight and 1996 Final Four.
The stint at UMass was the start of an eight-year association between Freedman and Calipari. After completing his undergraduate degree in sports management, Freedman followed Calipari to the New Jersey Nets where he worked as both a staff assistant and in the basketball operations department. Following Calipari's departure from the Nets, Freedman served as an assistant to Calipari with the Philadelphia 76ers. Freedman joined the staff at the University of Memphis in March 2000 after Calipari accepted the head coaching position at the school.
Freedman, who has been a mainstay at the Five-Star Basketball Camp for the past 10 summers, earned a degree in sport management from UMass in 1997 and completed a law degree at Seton Hall in 2000.
Pitino also spent one season at Northeastern before coming to Duquesne. The 23-year-old was an administrative assistant at the College of Charleston before joining Everhart's staff at Northeastern. Pitino, who spent two seasons as a manager for the men's basketball team while an undergraduate at Providence, completed his degree in history in 2005.
Pitino, who is the son of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, also served as an assistant coach at Saint Andrew's School in Barrington, R.I. for two years.
Serro, 24, served as director of basketball operations for four years at Northeastern. The Baldwin, N.Y. native completed his degree in physical education/sports management at Endicott College (Beverly, Mass.) in 2003. As an undergrad, Serro interned in the athletics marketing department at St. John's and at Queens College.
