Press Release regarding assistant coaching positions...

[ZiggyZoomba]

Bowling Green State University men's basketball coach Dan Dakich has announced the hiring of LaMonta Stone (pronounced la MON tay) , as an assistant coach to the Falcon program. Stone, a native of Detroit, joins BGSU after serving the last two years as an assistant at Ohio State. Prior to that, Stone was an assistant for two years at Eastern Michigan from 2000 to 2002.

"LaMonta is a quality individual who brings a number of key elements to our program," said Dakich. "He has recruited successfully and tirelessly in this part of the country for both a Big Ten and a MAC school and as a former successful head coach on the high school level he brings a knowledge and experience to our staff that is extremely valuable."

Stone, 38, joined the EMU staff after spending six seasons as the head boy's basketball coach at River Rouge High School, where he directed one of the most successful high school programs in the state of Michigan in his six seasons at River Rouge, posting a 126-24 record. He led the Panthers to back-to-back Class B state championships in 1998 and 1999 and both of those teams earned Top 25 national rankings in the USA Today poll.

Five of his River Rouge teams won district titles and three were regional champions. Both The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press named Stone Coach of the Year in 1999. He also was singled out for that honor by the Michigan Coaches Association in 1997.

Stone graduated from River Rouge High School in 1984 after participating in basketball, track and football. He went on to earn an associate's degree at Henry Ford Community College in 1990 and completed his bachelor's degree in psychology at Wayne State University in 1999. He began his coaching career in 1990 as a volunteer boys basketball coach at River Rouge H.S. He went on to become an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Michigan-Dearborn from 1991-94 before returning to River Rouge H.S. as the head coach in 1994.

Stone and his wife, Tomica, have one son, LaMonta II, 7.

VANDIVER AND MARKOWSKI TAKE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Stone fills one of the vacancies created when second-year assistant coach Shaun Vandiver was named the top assistant at Northern Colorado, and third-year assistant Andy Markowski returned to his native Nebraska to accept a pharmaceutical sales position.

"Shaun is one of the most recognizable figures in the history of college basketball in Colorado and gets to help build a brand new Division I program," said Dakich. "Andy has an opportunity to triple his salary, spend time with his young family, and be closer to a place where his support system is much greater. They are both great guys and we wish nothing but the best for them."