Boston Celtics assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry told the Boston Herald he will interview with UMass Monday for its vacant head coaching position. This will be Shrewsberry’s second interview.
According to sources familiar with the process, Shrewsberry is one of a small group of candidates still involved in the process. UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford reportedly met with an unidentified coach Sunday and might meet with another after Shrewsberry on Monday.
The Herald article, which didn’t quote Shrewsberry directly, said he didn’t know what he’d do if the job was offered.
Shrewsberry’s candidacy has leapt considerably since the search restarted after Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey was hired and then changed his mind last week. According to a different source, Shrewsberry has assured UMass that he’d be able to start in Amherst immediately and wouldn’t need to complete the Celtics’ season.
Shrewsberry, 40, is in his fourth season with the Celtics. He’d been a Division I assistant coach at Purdue (2011-13) and before that was with Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens at Butler (2008-2011).
The Indianapolis native had spent almost his entire career in Indiana other than two years (2003-05) as the director of basketball operations at Marshall.
He coached the Celtics’ summer league team and coaches defense for Stevens.
It’s unclear how many candidates are still in consideration. Bamford reportedly spoke to ESPN analyst Seth Greenburg, who coached at Virginia Tech and South Florida.
Greenburg, 60, coached nine seasons at Tech and reached one NCAA Tournament and five NITs. He has worked at ESPN since being fired in 2012.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage