Darren Savino joins UC coaching staff

 After a 15-year coaching career including stops at St. John's, Seton Hall and most recently Rutgers University, Darren Savino is the newest assistant coach for the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team.

Savino replaces former assistant Tony Stubblefield who, after four years at UC, is now an assistant coach at the University of Oregon.

Cincinnati's newest coach is no stranger to head coach Mick Cronin, as Savino was an assistant on Cronin's staff for three seasons at Murray State.

I’m extremely excited about bringing Darren Savino back to our staff," Cronin said. "He was with me at Murray State and we experienced tremendous success together. Aside from our personal relationship, I have tremendous respect for him as a coach."

Savino guesses he and Cronin first met more than 15 years ago and Cronin is excited to bring new old friend on board.

"There is probably nobody with as much Big East experience as Darren, East-Coast ties as Darren and also the comfort level I have with him," Cronin said. "He’s done a tremendous job recruiting and coaching at  [Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John's].

With recruiting set to be his biggest focus, Savino has gotten straight to work.

"It’s a big recruiting year for us. We have a lot of scholarships, so I told him the pressure is on," Cronin said. "We’ve got a lot of work to do with the graduating senior class being at five, possibly six. We’ve got a lot of work to do in that area."

But having scholarships to work with excites Savino, who said his East Coast ties should continue to flourish, even in Cincinnati.

"The great thing about being in a place like this that has great tradition and history is when you’re calling up a kid from the Northeast, it’s not a foreign thing to them," Savino said. "They understand about Bearcat basketball and UC basketball. Lance Stephenson last season especially helps because he was a popular figure in high school."

Cronin, Savino and the rest of the Cincinnati basketball team will begin practice for the 2010-11 season Friday, Aug. 20.