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Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan will be leaving the program to take the same position at Butler University, according a report from ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.
Butler has agreed to deal in principle with Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan, source told ESPN. https://t.co/ixFeZdY5dK
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 12, 2017
The report was also confirmed by Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports.
Butler is expected to hire Milwaukee's LaVall Jordan as its next head basketball coach, per source. Details of contract being worked out.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 12, 2017
Jordan is taking the job at his alma mater after just one year at Milwaukee in which the Panthers struggled mightily. Milwaukee went 11-24 in Jordan’s only year, and finished 10th in the Horizon League with a 4-14 record.
So why would a coach with his credentials get tabbed for a high quality job like Butler? Well, it helps to have played for the athletic director making the hire.
Barry Collier, the athletic director at Butler, was Jordan’s coach back when he was a guard for the Bulldogs. Jordan played at the university from 1997-2001, and played under Collier for the first three years.
The departure of Jordan puts Milwaukee in a tough spot, just as Butler was when Ohio State hired Chris Holtmann just days ago. It is unlikely that Milwaukee anticipated losing their head coach so shortly after hiring him, so a logical replacement is unclear at the moment. It might make the most sense to promote an assistant as an interim head coach until next offseason, but right now there isn’t a clear course of action for the decision makers in the Milwaukee athletic department.