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Rob Senderoff

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Rob Senderoff
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamKent State
ConferenceMAC
Record264–164 (.617)
Biographical details
Born (1973-07-25) July 25, 1973 (age 51)
Spring Valley, New York, U.S.
Alma materSUNY Albany ('95)
Miami (OH) ('97)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1995–1997Miami (OH) (GA)
1997–1999Fordham (assistant)
1999–2001Yale (assistant)
2001–2002Towson (assistant)
2002–2006Kent State (assistant)
2006–2008Indiana (assistant)
2008–2011Kent State (Associate HC)
2011–presentKent State
Head coaching record
Overall264–164 (.617)
Tournaments0–2 (NCAA Division I)
3–4 (CIT)
0–1 (TBC)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 MAC tournament (2017, 2023)
MAC regular season (2015)
MAC East division (2015)
Awards
MAC Coach of the Year (2022)

Robert Andrew Senderoff (born July 25, 1973) is the head men's basketball coach at Kent State University. The winningest and longest-tenured coach in program history, he has led the Flashes to a Mid-American Conference regular season title as well as NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2023.

Personal and early life

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Senderoff is a native of Spring Valley, New York. He played basketball for his high school team.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from University at Albany in 1995, and was also a student assistant with the basketball program.[2]

He then moved on to Miami University, where he was a graduate assistant and earned a master's degree in sports studies in 1997.[2] He is married to Lauren (née Edelstein), with two children, Ray and Samantha.[2][3] He is Jewish, and is a member of Temple Beth Shalom in Hudson, Ohio, and lives in Stow, Ohio.[1]

Coaching career

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Senderoff served as an assistant coach at Fordham University (1997–99), Yale University (1999–2001), and Towson University (2001–02), and as a graduate assistant at Miami University.[2]

Senderoff had two stints with the Kent State program before moving into the head job. First, he was an assistant to coach Jim Christian from 2002–06. Then, he was hired by former head coach Geno Ford to be his associate head coach.

Senderoff was then hired by Kelvin Sampson to be an assistant for two seasons at Indiana. Sampson and Senderoff resigned in October 2007 in the midst of a recruiting controversy.[4] The NCAA eventually handed Senderoff a 30-month show-cause penalty for his role in the scandal. Unlike the vast majority of coaches given such a penalty, he retained a coaching job during it.[5]

He was hired by Kent State as an assistant coach in April 2008.[4] In September 2010, The Hoop Scoop rated him as the fourth-best Mid-Major assistant basketball coach in the nation.[6]

He was hired as the 24th head coach in the 95-year history of Kent State basketball on April 7, 2011, to replace Geno Ford, under whom Senderoff had served as associate head coach for the previous three seasons.[6] His contract called for three years at $250,000 per year, with built-in bonuses for meeting incentives.[7] In May 2015, Kent State extended his contract by five years, with compensation of an estimated $350,000 per year.[8]

Senderoff led the Golden Flashes to their first MAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years in 2017, but lost to UCLA in the first round. Following their NCAA Tournament appearance, Kent State would extend Senderoff's contract an additional two years.

On Dec. 28, 2018, Senderoff won his 149th career game, passing Jim McDonald for the most in Kent State history.[9] The Flashes made their fourth CIT appearance under Senderoff later that season before going 15–8 two years later, their second-best season winning percentage (.652) of Senderoff's tenure. New athletic director Randale L. Richmond subsequently rewarded the coach with another extension through 2026.[10]

During the 2021–22 season, Senderoff led the team to a 12-game winning streak to conclude the regular season, the longest winning streak at Kent State since the 2002 season. He was named MAC Coach of the Year for the first time in March 2022, the ninth time a KSU head coach had won the award.[11] Despite posting the best record of his career at the time at 23–11, KSU lost to Akron in the MAC Tournament finals before falling to Northern Arizona in the first round of the inaugural edition of The Basketball Classic.

In the 2022-2023 season, Senderoff led the Golden Flashes to even more success, finishing 28-7, 15-3 in conference play. It is the best record of Senderoff's career and the best record by Kent State since 2007-2008 when they also went 28-7 overall. In the MAC Tournament, the Flashes would go on to defeat 7th seeded Northern Illinois and arch-rival 4th seeded Akron to reach the MAC Tournament Championship against #1 seeded Toledo. Despite being underdogs and Toledo riding a 17-game winning streak, the Flashes would defeat Toledo to win the MAC Tournament. It was the second time in Senderoff's career his Flashes won the Tournament and their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament during his tenure. The Flashes would go on to lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Indiana.

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Kent State Golden Flashes (Mid-American Conference) (2011–present)
2011–12 Kent State 21–12 10–6 4th (East) CIT first round
2012–13 Kent State 21–14 9–7 3rd (East) CIT second round
2013–14 Kent State 16–16 7–11 5th (East)
2014–15 Kent State 23–12 12–6 T–1st (East) CIT Quarterfinals
2015–16 Kent State 19–13 10–8 T–3rd (East)
2016–17 Kent State 22–14 10–8 4th (East) NCAA Division I Round of 64
2017–18 Kent State 17–17 9–9 2nd (East)
2018–19 Kent State 22–11 11–7 3rd (East) CIT first round
2019–20 Kent State 20–12 9–9 4th (East) No postseason held
2020–21 Kent State 15–8 12–6 T–3rd
2021–22 Kent State 23–11 16–4 2nd TBC first round
2022–23 Kent State 28–7 15–3 2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2023–24 Kent State 17–17 8–10 8th
Kent State: 264–164 (.617) 138–94 (.595)
Total: 264–164 (.617)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ a b "MAC battle shoots for ‘chai lights’" |clevelandjewishnews.com
  2. ^ a b c d "Rob Senderoff - 2009-10 Men's Basketball" - Kent State University Athletics
  3. ^ Indiana Hoosiers – Sampson Completes Coaching Staff
  4. ^ a b "Senderoff to join Kent State's staff next season"
  5. ^ O'neal, Dana (April 21, 2011). "Kent State shows faith in Rob Senderoff". ESPN. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Kent State Names Rob Senderoff Men's Basketball Coach"
  7. ^ "Kent State introduces Rob Senderoff as its new men's basketball coach" | cleveland.com
  8. ^ "Kent State extends basketball coach Rob Senderoff for five years" | cleveland.com
  9. ^ "KSU's Senderdoff winningest coach in Kent State basketball history". 2 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Kent State men's basketball coach Rob Senderoff receives 4-year extension through 2026". June 2021.
  11. ^ "Carry, Senderoff and Hamilton Earn Top MAC Honors". KentStateSports.com. Kent State University. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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