he's getting a significant raise
Scott Spinelli has signed an agreement with Boston College to become its new head basketball assistant, bringing the former Maryland assistant back home to his native New England, the schools confirmed Monday.
The announcement was a formality, given that Spinelli completed his contract Saturday during a visit to campus, an individual with knowledge of the situation said then.
“I want to thank Mark [Turgeon] for the great opportunity,” Spinelli said in a statement released by the school. “I enjoyed working with him over the past eight years and I am proud of our accomplishments. I had a tremendous experience at Maryland and sincerely enjoyed working closely with the basketball staff, student-athletes and the athletics department. This was a very unique opportunity that was presented to my family and I, and we are eager to return home. On behalf of my entire family, I would like to thank the University of Maryland community and wish them the very best.”
Spinelli’s deal, the specific terms of which were not disclosed, will make him one of the highest-paid assistants in ACC, a source said. During the 2012-13 season, the last season contracts were made available via an open records request, Spinelli made $202,000 with the Terps. According to the source, Boston College offered Spinelli a significant raise.
Spinelli’s impact at Maryland was well-documented. All of the recruits whose courtship he oversaw — Jake Layman, Evan Smotrycz, Seth Allen, Damonte Dodd and Jared Nickens — will be in the program next season and three of them finished in the top four in scoring for the Terps. He also handled the toughest scouting assignments.
Last season, Spinelli was a finalist for gigs at Buffalo and Florida International, but those jobs instead went to Bobby Hurley and Anthony Evans, respectively. His move to Boston College, a program that recently fired Steve Donahue, reunites him with first-year Coach Jim Christian, a fellow Boston University graduate.
“Scott and I have known each other for a long time and have worked together for the last eight years,” Turgeon said in the statement. “He is an outstanding coach and recruiter and has been a great member of my staff while at Wichita State, Texas A&M and Maryland. This is a great personal and professional opportunity for Scott, and it’s a chance for his family to move back to the New England region. Scott’s been a great friend and I wish him, his wife Lynn, and his family the very best.”
The search for Spinelli’s replacement had begun long before his deal was completed, given that the two sides were in “serious talks” for more than a week, but no concrete names have trickled out, only speculation about who might or might not be interested in the job. The Terps are also working to fill their open director of basketball operations position, which was vacated by Dustin Clark after he was promoted to assistant coach following the resignation of Dalonte Hill.
According to the source, the Boston College offer was unexpected to Spinelli, but the combination of a raise and the ability to return home was too much to pass up.