June 30, 2003

University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari rekindled a longtime association with Ed Schilling, naming the former Wright State coach an assistant on the U of M staff.

Schilling was a member of Calipari's coaching staff at Massachusetts during the Minutemen's 1996 run to the NCAA Final Four and a 35-2 record. When Calipari was named the vice president of basketball operations and basketball coach with the New Jersey Nets, Schilling joined him as an assistant with the NBA team. Schilling's meteoric rise in the coaching profession was chronicled in Sports Illustrated as he became the only coach ever to advance from the high school coaching ranks to the Final Four and finally to the bench of an NBA team in a period of 310 days.

After one season with the Nets, Schilling returned to collegiate coaching as he was named the head coach at Wright State in 1997. At the time, he was the second youngest Division I head coach in the nation.

Over a six-year career at Wright State, the Raiders were 75-93. One of the biggest wins in Wright State history came Dec. 30, 1999, when during Schilling's third season the Raiders defeated then, sixth-ranked Michigan State 53-49 in front of a near-capacity crowd in WSU's Nutter Center. Many basketball analysts referred to the win as the most significant upset of the decade. Michigan State would go on to capture the NCAA Championship that year.

The following year Wright State began the season with a 9-1 record, the best Division I start in school history. The Raiders posted an 18-11 record and an 8-6 mark in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference and advanced to the semifinals of the MCC Tournament. He was named the 2001 MCC Coach of the Year by collegeinsider.com.

In 2002, Wright State knocked off 20th-ranked Butler on the road in Hinkle Fieldhouse, 90-87 in double overtime. The Raiders finished the season with a 17-11 mark. WSU was 10-18 this past season.

"I welcome the challenge to not only learn more from Coach Cal, but also help him add to his legacy of success," Schilling said. "I hope that my six years of Division I head coaching experience will contribute to his program and success.

"I have been asked what I am going to do at The University of Memphis," he added. "The answer is easy. I'll do whatever Coach Cal wants me to do. Any possible way I can contribute to Coach, the players, the program, the university and community I will do. I will try to explore every avenue within the NCAA rules to help accomplish the high goals that Coach Calipari has set. I also expect to contribute to the positive development and maturity of the young men under our care."

As a collegian, Schilling was a four-year starting point guard at Miami (Ohio). He was a two-time team captain and along with Ron Harper helped lead the school to a pair of NCAA Tournaments. He was a three-time academic all-conference selection and is still the single-game assist record holder in the Mid-American Conference and holds single game, season and career assists records at Miami.

Soon after graduating from Miami in 1988, Schilling was named the head coach at Western Boone High School in Thorntown, Indiana. He led Western Boone to a school record for most wins in a season during the 1990-91 season and after three seasons was named the head coach at Logansport (Indiana) High School.

In arguably the most competitive prep conference in the nation, Logansport's basketball program improved each of Schilling's four seasons. In his final two seasons, Schilling's teams won back-to-back sectional championships while compiling the most wins at Logansport in more than 20 wins.

And in addition to the experience Schilling quickly gained as a young high school coach, he also spent his summers learning more about the game at the famed Five-Star Basketball Camp in Pennsylvania. Schilling's relationship with Five-Star Basketball Camp began as a camper while in high school. He continued his association with the camp as a college counselor during his playing days at Miami University. And after graduating from Miami and beginning his coaching career, he was a station master and head resident coach at Five-Star. He was inducted into the Five-Star Basketball Camp Hall of Fame in 2002.

Schilling is also the co-author of two books, Guard Play which was co-authored with Steve Alford and Five Star Basketball was written with Howard Garfinkel. He has also created several teaching videotapes including Playing the Point and Combination Defenses.

It was at Five-Star where Schilling began his relationship with John Calipari.

"To say that I'm excited about this new challenge would be an understatement," Schilling said. "Memphis is a super city and Coach Cal is not only a great coach, but he is also one of the most loyal friends a person can have. I feel blessed to be on board Coach Cal's ship again."

Schilling is involved in ministry work around the world with Champions for Christ. He and his wife Shawn are the parents of three children: daughters, Christina and Natalie, and a son, Eddie.