Published: May 12, 2007 11:35 pm         

Beilein takes two assistants from WVU

MORGANTOWN — Coach John Beilein has taken two members of his West Virginia University men’s basketball staff to Michigan with him.

John Mahoney went as an assistant coach and Tracey Hamner as the head coach’s administrative assistant, according to a story in the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News.

Beilein retained Mike Jackson as an assistant from predecessor Tommy Amaker’s Michigan staff, leaving one vacancy for the other assistant coach position.

That job reportedly could be filled eventually by Jerry Dunn, an assistant at WVU the past four years. Dunn has been mentioned in connection with a head coaching job elsewhere.

Mahoney served as director of men’s basketball operations here the past two years, and Hamner was Beilein’s graduate assistant during the same period.

A native of Burgettstown, Pa., Mahoney came to WVU from Duquesne, where he spent four years as an assistant coach under Danny Nee. Before that, he was an assistant at Robert Morris for three years.

In all, he has more than 20 years of basketball coaching in both high school and college circles.

He led Our Lady of Sacred Heart High in Coraopolis, Pa., to WPIAL Class A finals twice as head coach there from 1984-94.

Mahoney also served as head coach at Mount Aloysius College from 1994-98 and oversaw that school’s move from junior college to the NAIA level.

He is a graduate of Phoenix with a degree in business/information technology.

Hamner came to WVU in the summer of 2005 after having served as head junior varsity coach and assistant varsity coach at James River High in Midlothian, Va.

He also taught English there for three years and created a course called Sports and Literature. It examines the impact that sports have on society and literature.

The Richmond, Va., native is a 2002 graduate of the University of Richmond with a degree in English and a minor in education.

It was while at Richmond that he was a manager for Beilein’s team four years, the last two as head manager.

Hamner worked toward a master’s degree in athletic coaching education at WVU.

Dunn is a veteran of 30 years’ coach. He came to WVU from Penn State, where he spent 20 years — the last eight as a head coach.

He could not be contacted for comment about his plans.