City of Basketball Love

Jeff Neiburg (@Jeff_Neiburg)
--

Penn State basketball lost one of its best recruiting assets on Monday morning. Associate Head Coach Brian Daly announced his departure from the program, saying he wished to be closer to his family.

"I have valued my time at Penn State and wish the program nothing but the best," Daly said in a statement. "I have been away from my family the last few years and as my children are getting older and our oldest son is entering his senior year, I want to be in Philadelphia with them."

Daly's son, rising Archbishop Carroll senior Ryan Daly, is a Division I target with offers already from Penn, Brown and Hartford.

Daly also has a younger son (Colin) and a daughter (Keri) with his wife Tracie. 

Daly spent four years as a Penn State assistant coach and would have been entering his third in his current role of Associate Head Coach. He was with head coach Pat Chambers at Boston University prior to following him to State College.

At Penn State, Daly was key in getting Shep Garner, Isaiah Washington and more to commit. 

"We wish him the very best as he pursues other professional opportunities in the Philadelphia area," Chambers said. "Our program is built around family and nothing is more important than one's own." 

Chambers recently inked a contract extension to remain as head coach through the 2018-19 season.

Daly, a Philadelphia-area native, graduated from Monsignor Bonner in 1988 before playing his college basketball at Saint Joseph's. 

A member of Bonner's Hall of Fame, Daly returned to his alma mater and was an assistant coach from 1996-2002 before leaving to take on an assistant coach's role at Arcadia University. While at Arcadia, Daly returned to school at St. Joe's and earned a master's degree in education in 2003.

Prior to joining Chambers' staff at Boston University, Daly had returned to Bonner as the team's head coach for four years. 

His departure from the PSU program leaves a big hole to fill. But recent coaching staff addition Dwayne Anderson has already established a knack in the recruiting department. So, too, has assistant coach Keith Urgo.