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Reports: Vermont assistant Matt O’Brien to join Maine coaching staff

obrien

Vermont Athletics

New Maine head coach Bob Walsh has begun the process of building his coaching staff, and according to multiple reports his first hire will be someone familiar with both his program and America East. Matt O’Brien, who for the last four seasons was a member of John Becker’s staff at Vermont, will be making the move to Orono to work for the man who was his boss at Rhode Island College from 2005-07.

The hire, which has yet to be made official by Maine, was first reported by the Bangor Daily News a couple days ago. In a story written by Alex Abrami of the Burlington Free Press, Becker offered some words on the departure of his former assistant.

“He has a long-standing relationship with Walsh and he’s familiar with the league,” Becker said. “I hate to see Matt leave — he did a lot of good things for us, both personally and professionally. He was a huge asset and we are sad to see him go, but it’s a great opportunity for Matt.”

The addition of O’Brien helps in two areas, as he’s familiar with both what his new boss wants accomplished and the programs the school faces in conference play. Maine finished the 2013-14 season with a 6-23 record (4-12 America East), and the Black Bears will have to account for the departure of three of their top four scorers (all transfers) from the program.

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