FERRIS ALUM TO GUIDE CLEVELAND STATE MEN'S HOOPS PROGRAM
Bulldog Athletics Hall Of Famer Named Viking Head Coach
Former Ferris State University men's basketball player and assistant coach Gary Waters was hired Thursday (April 6) as the new head men's basketball coach at Cleveland State of the Horizon League. The announcement was made by CSU Director of Athletics Lee Reed.
Waters, who most recently served for five seasons (2001-06) as the head coach at Rutgers University, replaces Mike Garland. He stepped down after compiling a 23-60 record over the last three seasons. Terms of the Waters contract have not been finalized and will be subject to the approval of the CSU Board of Trustees.
Waters, 54, comes to Cleveland State after leading the Scarlet Knights to three appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and a 79-74 overall record at Rutgers. Prior to that, he led Kent State (Ohio) to national prominence, earning two NCAA Tournament bids and one NIT berth in his five seasons.
Waters received his coaching start at Ferris after a successful playing career from 1972-74. He was an NAIA All-District selection as a player and in two years led the team to a 47-10 record under head coach Jim Wink. As a senior, he averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the 1973-74 Great Lakes Conference champions while earning all-conference accolades. Waters also helped the Bulldogs garner a NAIA National Tournament berth as a junior.
Waters served from 1975-89 as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs under Wink and Tom Ludwig. He then joined Eastern Michigan University as an assistant and later associate head coach from 1989-96. Hired in 1996 by NCAA-I member Kent State, Waters led the Golden Flashes to three post-season berths and was twice named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year in his first stint as a head coach. Kent State reached its first NCAA Tournament in 1999, advanced to the NIT's Elite Eight in 2000 and upset Indiana in the first round of the 2001 "Big Dance."
A native of Detroit, Mich., Waters moved to Rutgers for the 2001-02 season, leading the Scarlet Knights to an 18-13 record, making only their third post-season appearance in 11 seasons. Two years later, Rutgers won 20 games for the first time since 1981-82, including wins over Temple, West Virginia, Villanova and Iowa State to advance to the championship game of the NIT.
This past season, Rutgers made its third NIT appearance under Waters and upended Penn State in the first round before falling to Saint Joseph's in the second round.
A native of Detroit, Mich., Waters attended the preseason camp of the Detroit Pistons in 1974 before eventually playing professionally overseas in Spain. He returned to Ferris State to earn his bachelor's degree business administration in 1975. He later earned a master's degree in educational administration from Central Michigan in 1976 and a second bachelor's degree in business education from Ferris State in 1978.
Waters and his wife Bernadette have two grown children, son Sean and daughter, Seena.
The Detroit native was an all-city basketball, football and track athlete at MacKenzie High School during his prep career. Waters was inducted into the Bulldog Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
Photo Courtesy of Cleveland State Athletics Website (www.csuvikings.com)
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