Eric Haut
Assistant Coach
Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff announced his first staff hire on Friday (April 15) welcoming back former Golden Flash Eric Haut to the historic program. Having previously been associated with Kent State for seven years as a student-athlete and assistant coach, Haut returns to his alma mater following a three-year stint at Texas Christian.
“I could not be more excited to welcome Coach Haut back to Kent State,” said Senderoff. “He has been an intricate part of our tradition since his playing days and time as an assistant coach and knows what it takes to win at Kent State and in the Mid-American Conference.” While at TCU, Haut was primarily responsible for the development of the TCU guards. In each of his first two seasons with the Frogs, he helped guide a pair of All-Mountain West Conference selections in point guards Hank Thorns (2010-11 Third Team) and Ronnie Moss (2009-10 Second Team). “Kent State has always been a special place for me and I am thrilled to be back with the opportunity to continue the championship success of the storied program,” said Haut. “This is where my heart and loyalty is so I am both thankful and appreciative to Coach Senderoff and the Kent State Administration for allowing me to return and be able to build upon the strong roots of the Kent State basketball family.” During his first stint on the Kent State staff Haut helped lead the program to a pair of NCAA appearances and a 74-20 overall record in just three seasons. The 2007-08 campaign saw Golden Flashes capture a 28-7 record en route to winning the Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament titles which led to a number-nine seed in the NCAA Tournament, which was the highest seed in program history. Just two years earlier he held the Director of Operations title while Kent State compiled a 25-9 record and the MAC regular season and tournament titles. The ensuing NCAA appearance was the first for the Golden Flashes since Haut donned the Blue and Gold himself. A four-year standout and Second Team All-MAC selection during his playing career, Haut was a member of the finest team in MAC history as Kent State won a league record 30 games and advanced to the Elite Eight during the 2001-02 season. The Lansing, Mich. native was one of the top three-point marksmen in school history and concluded his playing career ranked second behind only Trevor Huffman in the Kent State record books with 200 three-pointers. Haut wrapped up his career with 983 total points for the Golden Flashes and connected on 40.5 percent from three and 83.9 percent from the foul line. In all he appeared in 123 games and helped Kent State post a 98-34 overall record to go along with four consecutive MAC East Division titles and four MAC Tournament Championship game appearances. “Having already been part of the Kent State family for seven years, the experience Coach Haut has with our program is invaluable,” said Senderoff. “As a coach he is a great teacher of the game and does all the work needed to recruit the best student-athletes that will enable the continued success of our team.” Following his highly successful playing days, Haut launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Western Kentucky during the 2004-05 season under former WKU head coach and current University of South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn. A 2004 graduate of Kent State, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business and is a member of the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches). Haut and his wife, Tonya, were married in the summer of 2009.
Jordan Mincy
Assistant Coach
Having played in more games than anyone in Kent State history Jordan Mincy (‘09) is now in his first season on the sidelines rejoining the Golden Flashes as an assistant coach in July of 2010.
“Jordan is a fantastic hire for us,” said Ford, the 2010 NABC District 14 Coach of the Year. “As a player he was a born leader with a tireless work ethic and he carries that same passion to the coaching ranks.” A four-year letter winner from 2005-09, Mincy returns to the KSU program after spending this past season as a graduate assistant on Darrin Horn’s South Carolina staff. “This is a tremendous opportunity and I want to thank Coach Ford and the entire Kent State Administration for the chance to carry the proud winning tradition of the program forward,” said Mincy. Upon his graduation in 2009, the Memphis, Tenn. product’s 135 games played were more than anyone in Mid-American Conference history. A true floor general in every sense of the word, he led the team to 93 wins and two NCAA appearances in his four-year career in which he finished seventh on the school’s all-time assists list with 347. As a senior, MAC Report Online named him the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. A renowned defender throughout his time with the Golden Flashes, Mincy poured in 9.9 points per game over the final 15 games of his career. The stretch helped lead KSU to an eight-game win streak and included a career high 27-point outing vs Ohio on Feb. 17 when he shot 5-5 from beyond the arc to equal a school record for three-point field goal percentage. One of three siblings in his family to play college basketball, Mincy led Ridgeway High School Tennessee Class AAA state championship in 2005. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business marketing from Kent State in May 2009 and is working towards his master’s degree in the art of teaching in business Mike McKee
Bobby Steinburg is now in his third season as a member of the Kent State coaching staff. Joining the program as an assistant coach prior to the 2008-09 season, Steinburg came to the Golden Flashes after spending the previous two seasons as the head coach at Motlow (Tenn.) Community College. |
Fresh off a four-year playing career at Kent State, Mike McKee has joined his alma mater on the sidelines as a graduate assistant coach for the 2010-11 season.