The Attrition Files: Coach Tom Abatemarco

The CU men's basketball coaching staff is finally seeing some attrition, but not in the way many had been expecting.  While assistants Jean Prioleau and Mike Rohn are still waiting for that much deserved head coaching offer, Director of Player Development Tom Abatemarco is leaving the program for second time to take an assistant coaching position with Loyola Marymount.

Coach A was a vital piece of basketball's resurgence in Boulder.  From: CUBuffs.com

Coach Abatemarco had been with the program since even before the Tad Boyle era began, having signed on as an assistant with Jeff Bzdelik shortly before the former coach left for Wake Forest in 2010.  When Coach Boyle was hired, Abatemarco impressed him enough to retain the position he had been offered under Bzdelik, with the veteran immediately becoming one of Coach Boyle's most trusted recruiters.

A well-connected figure in the national basketball landscape, Abatemarco added heft to the fledgling staff, and allowed them to get on their feet in a hurry.  When the call came to find a rebounder to flesh out the 2010 CU roster, Coach A new where to go, and dug out the name of Andre Roberson not even a month on the job.  Who knows where CU would be without that recruiting coup.

In recent years, however, he had been pushed off the front lines.  A coaching shake up intended to get fellow assistant Rodney Billups out on the recruiting trail left Coach A as the odd man out, chaining the passionate recruiter to his desk.  After that, it was only a matter of time before the well-traveled Abatemarco began to look for greener pastures.  In fact, there were rumors of his imminent departure as early as last season.

There has been some mild consternation that his departure will wound recruiting efforts in California.  I think there's some merit to that, as he has been an essential part of the dynamic upswing in recruiting over the past few years, but I have faith that Coach Boyle and crew will do just fine in his absence, especially in light of recent recruiting developments.

In the end, it's a move that makes sense for Abatemarco.  I'm sad to see one of the keystones to CU's recent success depart, but I'm happy that Coach A is jumping at exciting new opportunities to help build another program.

Thank you Coach Abatemarco! You helped kick off the RollTad era in style by beefing up recruiting, and leveraging your roll-o-dex.  Your contributions will not be forgotten.

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Best remembered for - 

Dominating the recruiting trail, and helping to find the first recruiting jewel of the RollTad era


Best aspect of his game - 

Tweeting.  The dude is a fantastic follow.  His jokes, prods, teases, and rants make for a hell of a roller coaster ride.  No one associated with the team uses teh interwebz better than Coach Abatemarco.