John Leonard has spent most of his adult life around the Manhattan basketball program, first as a player, then as an assistant and finally as head coach. But that relationship came to an end yesterday when the Jaspers fired the 38-year-old Leonard.
The decision – made by school president Brother Thomas Scanlan and AD Bob Byrnes – came after a last-place 5-22 season that left Leonard’s three-year record at 26-57. And it came three days after Manhattan suffered a 73-46 first-round loss to Rider in the MAAC Tournament, the most lopsided league tourney loss in Jasper history.
”This is not a happy day for me,” Byrnes said. ”I like John personally. And he’s been here and bled green. He had a special spot … but not a sacred spot.”
Leonard was fired with two years left on a contract that paid him roughly $80,000 in base salary, and about $100,000 as a total package. The school has said it will honor both years of the contract, although both parties are still working out the details of the severance.
Byrnes said the process of choosing a successor would begin immediately and current assistant Matt Kilcullen, a former head coach at Western Kentucky, would be interviewed.
According to reports, St. John’s assistant Kevin Clarke also is a candidate to fill the vacancy.
”I’m disappointed it happened. But I appreciate the opportunity the administration gave me the past three years,” Leonard said. ”They’ve been very supportive, and they’re being very supportive of me right now. They’re handling it professionally, and so am I.”
Leonard spent four years at Manhattan as a player (1978-82) and four more as an assistant (1988-92). He returned to Riverdale in 1996-97 as head coach, going 9-18. The Jaspers were 12-17 last season, but advanced to the MAAC semis to raise expectations for this season.