Micah Shrewsberry left his meeting with UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford on Monday without an offer as the school’s search for a new men’s basketball coach continues.
The Boston Celtics assistant coach told the Boston Herald that it was a good meeting.
“I thought it went well. But there’s nothing new, no job offer,” Shrewsberry told the Herald. “(Bamford) said he doesn’t want to rush into this next decision. They’re not going to drag it out, either, but it’s important that they’re thorough about this. That’s the impression I get.”
He said he liked the idea of being back in college basketball.
“For me, it’s just a chance to get back (into the college game) and build a program,” said Shrewsberry. “That’s the main thing I want to do, and there’s that opportunity with this job.”
Shrewsberry has assured UMass that he’d be able to start in Amherst immediately and wouldn’t need to complete the Celtics’ season. Boston has eight games plus postseason remaining.
According to multiple sources, Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who coached at Butler, including a year in the Atlantic 10, was actively advocating for Shrewsberry behind the scenes.
Shrewsberry, a Hanover (Indiana) College alum, 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 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 was in charge of the Celtics’ defense for Stevens.
The Celtics host Milwaukee, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the TD Garden.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage