Kevin Schappell (left) has joined the NKU men's basketball coaching staff.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University men's basketball head coach
Dave Bezold has added former Norse standout
Kevin Schappell to his staff for the upcoming season.
Schappell, a four-year letterwinner for NKU from 2003-07, spent the past three years as an assistant coach at West Virginia University. The former Loveland High School standout also received his master's degree from West Virginia.
Schappell was a member of last season's West Virginia coaching staff and helped the Mountaineers advance to the NCAA Division I Final Four. West Virginia earned berths in the NCAA Tournament each of Schappell's three seasons as an assistant to head coach Bob Huggins.
“Kevin knows our program about as well as anyone, and he is a great addition to our coaching staff,” Bezold said. “He's been at one of the elite basketball programs in Division I the past three years, so he's also going to bring that experience here to NKU and give us a different perspective on many things.”
While a player at NKU, Schappell scored 868 career points. He was named honorable mention All-Great Lakes Valley Conference during the 2005-06 season.
As a senior in 2006-07, Schappell played a key role during NKU's run to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region championship game. The Norse knocked off top-seeded Findlay in the regional semifinals of that tournament, ending the nation's longest home winning streak at 59 consecutive games.
RYAN RETIRES: Norse assistant coach Pat Ryan, who joined the coaching staff at NKU in 1988, has announced his retirement. Ryan was the first assistant coach hired by Ken Shields in 1988, and he remained the Norse's top assistant for several years in a part-time role.
During Ryan's career, NKU won a pair of regional championships and advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship games in both 1996 and '97. After Shields retired in 2004, he remained a part of Bezold's coaching staff the past six years.
“Pat has been a security blanket for me,” Bezold said. “I know he's been through so many things in the game. His voice is always the one I heard. He was like having a consultant. He never let us get lulled into a false sense of security. He was always questioning what we were doing, and that's such a huge asset."
NOTE: The Enquirer's Richard Skinner contributed information to this report.
