THUNDER BAY -- The new Lakehead Thunderwolves men’s basketball coach is shaking up his staff.
Manny Furtado, who is entering his first season at the helm of the program, announced long-time assistant coach Matt Erdman will not return to the team for the upcoming campaign.
A release from the university stated Erdman is stepping away from the team to focus on his professional responsibilities as a teacher.
“He’s leaving the program in better shape than how he found it 15 years ago as a student athlete,” athletic director Tom Warden is quoted. “I’d like to acknowledge his skills and expertise on the basketball sidelines, and his contribution to Lakehead’s recruiting efforts over the years.”
Erdman, who played four seasons as a guard, had spent 10 years as former head coach Scott Morrison’s right hand man, serving as the interim coach while Morrison spent his one-year sabbatical with the NBA D-League.
Former assistant Mark English, who had spent three years on the bench, will also not be returning after he accepted the head coaching job of the University of Prince Edward Island’s women’s team.
Pat Charlebois, who has been an assistant since 2010, will be retained.
Furtado is replacing Erdman and English with new faces Jeremy Wielenga and Steve McGilligan.
Wielanga most recently was an assistant with the University of Brandon but also has significant experience at the high school and club levels.
McGilligan has made assistant coaching stops at the University of Manitoba, University of British Columbia and Dalhousie and most recently worked as the assistant coach and coordinator of basketball operations with the Auckland Pirates of the New Zealand Basketball Association.
