A New Coach, An Ancient Goal
Tim Cohane is chasing an object that has eluded Dartmouth for two decades. "My goal is simple. We're shooting for an Ivy League championship," said the 36-year- old Cohane, who was named the Big Green's 22nd head basketball coach early in April. He also wants to end the revolving door syndrome that has beset the College's basketball program. Since the late Doggie Julian coached his last college basketball game 13 years ago, Dave Gavitt '59, George Blaney, Tom O'Connor, Marcus Jackson, and Gary Walters have come and gone as Dartmouth mentors. "I've got no intention of using this as a steppingstone," Cohane said. "I've got a four-year contract and can't conceive of wanting to go anywhere else."
Cohane succeeds Walters, who will replace Gavitt as head coach of the Providence College team. Gavitt, the school's athletic director, will be coaching the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Walters' 1978-79 club posted a 14-12 mark. Only one Dartmouth team has won more games than that since 1959-60. Cohane was in Hanover for only two days before leaving on a ten-day national recruiting trip. "I am going to try and convince the players Gary spoke with that nothing has changed. I have every intention of completing the recruiting job, though it will be a challenge at this point," he said.
The new coach was selected by a nine- member committee that whittled the 60 or 70 candidates down to a final seven. "The quality and quantity of the candidates is a tribute to Tim," said Athletic Director Seaver Peters. "Tim combines a dedication and fresh outlook that we're looking for. We couldn't have come away with anyone with more enthusiasm."
A defensive-minded coach like Walters, Cohane comes to Dartmouth from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. During his five seasons there, he led the Valiants to a 69-59 record and, for the past two years, appearances in the NCAA Division III regional tournament. Manhattanville finished this season as the second- stingiest Division III team in the nation, limiting opponents to only 56 points per same. Dartmouth, ironically, limited its opponents to 57 points per game, which was second best in the U.S. for Division I schools. Moving up to Division I doesn't bother Cohane. "There's no difference in the coaching, it's just a bigger challenge," he pointed out.
Cohane is a native of White Plains, New York, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was a defensive specialist on the basketball team. He coached various service teams while in the Navy and, while stationed at the Newport, Rhode Island, Naval Base, was awarded a master's degree from the University of Rhode Island. He coached Iona Prep in New Rochelle, New York, for four years and had teams in the conference playoffs during three of those years. While coaching at Manhattanville, he was an account executive with a New York Stock Exchange firm.
If he is successful in finding a shooting guard and one or two power forwards, Cohane feels Dartmouth will have a good shot at an Ivy title. "Right now I believe the Ivy League race is wide open. Both Penn and Columbia are losing their best players, so we could be right in the thick of things. Our goal is an Ivy League championship and to fill Thompson Arena," he said.
There will be both new and familiar faces on Cohane's coaching staff. Named assistant coaches were Gordon Chiesa, athletic director of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, New York, and Peter Roby, co-captain of last season's Dartmouth basketball team. Chiesa, 28, is a 1973 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas and also served the school as varsity basketball coach, cross-country coach, and physical education director. Roby, a government major who will graduate in June, is excited about being named to the staff. "I've wanted to get into college coaching since my sophomore year," he said. "I hardly expected to be doing it upon graduation."
