Stewart Settling In As New Immaculata Head Coach
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Division III Immaculata University has a new men's basketball coach with Terrence Stewart taking over the reigns from Jamie Chadwin. The Mighty Macs are coming off a 11-16 season in 2011-12.
Stewart comes to Immaculata after spending the last two years on staff at La Salle University, serving as Dr. John Giannini's video coordinator and assistant director of operations. Stewart says this was the right job at the right time.
"I guess the main thing that made it good for me was I looked at the roster, the roster was good, they have a great roster coming back," Stewart tells KYW Newsradio. "It was a chance for me to win. It was a chance for me to get back to coaching after being a non-floor guy for the last two years. And I was just excited about the opportunity of being a head coach and having my own program."
**Listen to Matt Leon's interview with Terrence Stewart by clicking here**
Stewart's playing career was one to remember. He dominated at Division III Rowan in the mid-90's, leading the Profs to a National Championship in 1996 and graduating as the school's all-time leading scorer with more than 1,600 points. That mark stood until 2008. As a pro, Stewart traveled the world, playing overseas for ten seasons suiting up everywhere from Uruguay to Germany. Once his days in uniform came to an end, Stewart says he had no doubt he would still be staying in the game.
"I knew I was going to be involved in it in some phase of basketball when I was done playing it. So I kind of knew when I was playing it and winding down, this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to be involved in coaching. I wanted to be able to teach the game. All basketball players want to stay around it (the game), but I actually wanted to teach the game and just share everything I've learned over my 15, 20-year career playing basketball."
It is always a transition on the fly whenever a new coach takes over a program, and Stewart says the situation is no different for him. He has no doubt what job #1 is, however.
"First and foremost, I've got top recruit my guys that are already there. I got to show the guys there that I care about them, that I'm there to help them win. And I'm that that final piece that they need to get to that championship."
Immaculata plays in the Colonial States Athletic Conference.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
