Nolan leaving Marist to coach Naperville N.
Naperville North has made a big splash in replacing retiring coach Jeff Powers.
Marist coach Gene Nolan, who led the RedHawks to a 27- 5 record this past season before losing to Simeon 53- 48 in the sectional championship, will be named the Huskies’ new basketball coach.
Unranked when the season began in November, the RedHawks finished the season No. 8 in the final Sun- Times Super 25 rankings.
A Marist graduate, Nolan has been the head coach at his alma mater for the last 18 seasons and has built it into a consistent winner.
Nolan took over a struggling program in 2000. After putting the pieces in place and laying the foundation during his first three years as head coach, the program took off. In the last 15 seasons, Nolan has compiled an impressive 313- 133 overall record while competing in the rugged East Suburban Catholic Conference.
In the last eight years, Nolan has won 18plus games every season and averaged 22 wins a year during that stretch. The RedHawks have had four consecutive 20- pluswin seasons and have won two consecutive regional titles while winning 54 games the last two years.
“I’m humbled and honored to be the next head coach at Naperville North,” said Nolan, who’s only 44 but has nearly two decades of high- level head- coaching experience under his belt. “I am really looking forward to joining and being a part of a school that offers so much academically and athletically.”
Nolan takes over a program with a solid foundation of its own. Powers led the Huskies to 51 victories the last two seasons, including a DuPage Valley Conference title this past season and the program’s first sectional championship in 19 years two seasons ago.
Naperville North athletic director Bob Quinn considered a wide range of candidates from all over the state.
“First and foremost, we are getting a guy who loves kids, loves working with kids and developing them on and off the court, and that’s crucial to our mission,” Quinn said. “With a great pool of candidates, Gene clearly separated and established himself from everyone. He will be a tremendous mentor for the players in the program and for the kids at Naperville North.”
It took a special opportunity for Nolan to leave Marist. He spent 26 years at the school — four as a student, four as an assistant coach and 18 as the head coach. Nolan was the engine that fueled a turnaround in Marist basketball as the RedHawks were a combined 35- 41 in the three years before he took over the program in 2000.
“I fall short of words for what Marist has meant to me,” Nolan said. “It’s been about the people, the experiences and friendships. It’s a place I’ve called home for 26 years of my life. I’m forever grateful and thankful to the administration, my coaching friends and teaching colleagues.”
While leaving a school and basketball program he’s so attached to, Nolan is excited about the new opportunity at Naperville North.
“I can’t wait to meet the players and the assistants and to get a sense of the culture that’s been established at North,” Nolan said.
Naperville North loses four starters from last season but returns Division I prospect Tom Welch, a budding 6- 7 forward who is among the top players in Illinois in the Class of 2019.