Esleeck Joins Bears' Men's Basketball Staff

MACON, Ga. – Mercer University men’s basketball has hired Doug Esleeck as an assistant coach, it has been announced by MU head coach Bob Hoffman.

Esleeck replaces Mark Osina, who resigned after the 2009-10 season and had come to the Bears with Hoffman in 2008-09.

“We are very excited about adding Doug to our staff,” said Hoffman. “His strengths and abilities in recruiting should be a great fit to go along with the tremendous staff members we already have in place here.”

Esleeck brings a great deal of experience and familiarity to the Mercer program.  Since 2006, Esleeck had been an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C.  His progressively-responsible duties have included video editing, scouting, academic coordinator/advisor, and camps staffer to coordinator of recruiting, player development/conditioning, budget management and defensive coordinator. He was also on staff when G-WU knocked off then No. 20 ranked Kentucky during the 2007-08 season.

As Gardner-Webb’s recruiting coordinator last year, Esleeck brought in three players ranked among ESPN’s top 150 players. Player’s signed by the Runnin’ Bulldogs under Esleeck’s tenure included 2007-08 A-Sun “Player of the Year” Thomas Sanders, A-Sun “All-Freshman selection Nate Blank, ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American Aaron Linn and Big South Conference All-Freshman player Joshua Henley (who also was the nation’s top freshman rebounder in 2008-09).

“(Doug) has an understanding of the type of player it takes to win in our league and our region,” explained Hoffman. “That should be a tremendous advantage.”

Prior to joining the G-WU staff, Esleeck was the director of men’s basketball operations at UNC-Greensboro (2005-06) and served as both a strength and conditioning intern (2004-05) and a junior varsity coach (2003-04) at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  His coaching roots at the high school level and as a camp coach/clinician date back to 2001.

Esleeck’s addition to the Bears’ staff also marks his return to the Atlantic Sun Conference - of which G-WU was a member until the 2008-09 season when the school moved over to the Big South Conference. MU is a charter member of the A-Sun.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the Mercer community and the men’s basketball program,” said Esleeck. “I respect Coach Hoffman’s desire to win with class and build a successful program with integrity, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help him build on the success he has already brought to Mercer.”

Esleeck earned his bachelor’s degree from UNC-Chapel Hill in May 2005, with a double major in business administration and American history.  He also holds an MBA from Gardner-Webb in business administration (May 2008).

Mercer men’s basketball will tip-off the 2010-11 season on November 4 with an exhibition contest at home versus Georgia College and State University as a part of the “Coaches vs. Cancer” fundraising program. The Bears begin matters for real on Friday, Nov. 12 by hosting Oglethorpe.