by Warren Kozireski
Ryan MeeHilton 2001 graduate Ryan Mee has been hired as assistant men’s basketball coach at Davidson College located near Charlotte, North Carolina. The Wildcats won the 2011-12 Southern Conference title before losing to national runner-up Louisville in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.
Mee joins the Davidson staff after three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Rochester where the Yellowjackets compiled a record of 53-25 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship Sweet 16 in 2011.
“I’m thrilled with the addition of Ryan to our staff,” said Davidson head coach Bob McKillop in a press release. “He has experience as a successful college player and coach in an environment where there is an equal commitment to excellence in academics and athletics. His versatility will be a valuable addition to our program.”
As a student-athlete at UR, Mee played in four consecutive NCAA tournaments, including two Final Fours (2002, 2005) including the 2005 national championship game. His class was the first one at Rochester to win 20 or more games in every season and the first to compete in the NCAA playoffs every year. He is ranked in the school’s top 10 in career three-point field goals made.
Mee also spent one year as an assistant coach at Hilbert College (2005-06) before moving to Elmira College as an assistant coach for two seasons (2006-08). From 2008-09, Mee was an assistant coach at Skidmore College.
“I’ve been going down to Davidson for the last six years or so – since (former teammate) Tim Sweeney was there on the coaching staff and I was able to build a relationship with the staff,” said Mee in a phone conversation. “It’s a neat place very similar to Rochester but it will still be a huge transition.”
Davidson finished the 2011-12 campaign with a 25-8 overall record, marking the fourth time in the last six seasons the Wildcats have posted 25 or more wins. Davidson returns all five starters and the top eight scorers and rebounders from last year’s squad.
Mee graduated from Hilton as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,292 career points, career three-pointers with 233, career assists with 301 and was a three-time All-County selection. He also played baseball and soccer and was inducted into the Hilton Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
It seems the term “coach” must be in the job title if you are from the Mee family. Older brother Cory has been the head baseball coach at the University of Toledo since 2003 and father Ory is an assistant baseball coach at the College at Brockport after retiring from Hilton High School where he was baseball and boy’s basketball head coach.
“After I graduated from the U of R, I tried to fight it (becoming a coach), but after a year in the corporate world, it didn’t work.”
