Former UD coach Kuwik resigns at Wayne to accept Davidson position

Kevin Kuwik, the former University of men’s assistant basketball coach who succeeded Travis Trice as the boys basketball coach at Wayne High School five weeks ago, has resigned as the Warriors coach to accept a position on the Davidson College men’s basketball team.

»KUWIK SUCCEEDS TRICE: Wayne lands former UD men's assistant coach

Wayne athletic director Jay Minton confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Kuwik had taken a Davidson position, reportedly as the director of basketball operations.

“He didn’t think he was going that route, however, Davidson called him and offered him a spot and he felt like it was the best move for he and his family right now,” Minton texted. “I believe it kinda surprised him as well.”

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Kuwik did not respond to messages for comment and the Davidson athletic department would not confirm that Kuwik had joined the basketball staff.

»TRICE MAKES COACHING FLIP: From Wayne boys to Warriors’ girls

All of Kuwik’s 18 years of coaching basketball had been at the collegiate level until taking the Wayne job. He had been on then-UD men’s coach Archie Miller’s staff with the Flyers since 2011. Miller resigned at UD last spring to be Indiana’s head coach. That job opened when Tom Crean was not retained after nine seasons with the Hoosiers.

Anthony Grant, a former Flyer and an established college head coach and NBA assistant, was named to succeed Miller at UD. Kuwik didn’t land on either the new Indiana or UD coaching staffs, and instead took over the area’s best Division I boys program at Wayne.

»KEVIN KUWIK

What: New Davidson College assistant men's basketball coach.

Formerly: Dayton men's assistant from 2011-17.

Notable: Resigned as the Wayne High School boys coach after succeeding Travis Trice last month.

The Warriors won a state championship in 2015 and were 25-1 the next season. Many Warriors alums also have excelled collegiately, including current Flyers Xeyrius Williams and Trey Landers. Trice’s son, D’Mitrik Trice, is a sophomore guard at Wisconsin and another son, Travis, is a former standout at Michigan State. Wayne grad Ahmad Wagner also is a junior at Iowa.

Trice unexpectedly resigned as the Wayne boys coach to become the Warriors girls coach last spring. That position opened when Sonya Miller resigned last March.

Kuwik is well acquainted with the Davidson program and veteran coach Bob McKillop, who will enter his 29th season as the Wildcats coach. Davidson, located at Davidson, North Carolina on the shores of Lake Norman, joined UD in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2014.

Davidson was 17-15 overall last season and 8-10 in the A-10. The Wildcats split with the Flyers, losing 89-82 in overtime during the regular season but landing a 73-67 upset over top-seeded UD in the A-10 tournament semifinals at Pittsburgh.

Minton said Kuwik was “highly recommended” for the Wayne job by Miller and even former Ohio State coach Thad Matta when he was the head coach at Butler and Kuwik was a then-top Bulldogs assistant. Matta was not retained at OSU in late June and was succeeded by Chris Holtmann, previously Butler’s head coach the last three seasons.

Minton, also Wayne’s highly successful football coach, said a search will immediately begin “to find the best possible candidate to coach some extremely dedicated and talented student athletes. Although we are disappointed, we do wish coach Kuwik and his family much success in their future.”

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