Zeigler Named New Central Michigan Head Coach

By Bruin Basketball Report

Central Michigan University (CMU) is expected to hire UCLA assistant Ernie Zeigler as their new Head Coach replacing Jay Smith who resigned in May.

A Detroit native, Zeigler, 40, recently completed his third year on the staff of UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland.

Zeigler helped lead the Bruins to the NCAA National Championship game this past season.

Noted for being a great recruiter, Zeigler's efforts helped the Bruins land the nation's No. 4 incoming freshman class in 2004.

He was also primarily responsible for recruiting the Cameroon freshmen players last year, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya.

Zeigler is a Detroit native and played at Detroit Cody High, where he was also an assistant coach. He was also an AAU coach in Detroit.

"One of the biggest things for us was a good understanding and a connection to the Midwest from a recruiting perspective," Central Michigan AD Dave Heeke said.

Zeigler also has a year of coaching experience in the Mid-American Conference having spent the 2000-01 season at Bowling Green State University.

The other finalists for the CMU were Michigan State assistant Mark Montgomery and Mott Community College Head Coach Steve Schmidt.

(BruinBasketballReport.com)