Late Tuesday afternoon, Salisbury University Athletics announced that four-year men’s basketball head coach Andrew Sachs is going on a leave of absence until further notice.
Sachs was about to begin his fourth season leading the program, which he led to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances just a few seasons ago.
For now, Sachs will be replaced by SU assistant coach Brian McDermott in an interim role. McDermott rejoined the Sea Gull basketball program last season in his assistant role. The SU alumnus was part of the program in two previous stints as an assistant coach prior to that.
McDermott has left an imprint in local high school basketball as well in the Eastern Shore of Maryland, working as a varsity coach at Mardela (Md.), Stephen Decatur (Md.) and Sussex Tech (Del.) over his career.
Sachs’ departure is a sudden halt to a successful first few seasons at the helm of his alma mater. He tallied a 59-24 overall record over the last few seasons, including two CAC runner-up finishes.
Prior to his opportunity to coach the Sea Gulls, Sachs found success at Bethany College (W.V.), recording a 117-49 overall record over six seasons there.
Salisbury is set to begin its 2018 campaign on Nov. 10 when the team hosts Arcadia during a 7:30 p.m. start in Maggs Physical Activities Center.
By CHRIS MACKOWIAK
Sports editor
@cmackowiakSGSN
Featured photo: Salisbury University men’s basketball head coach Andrew Sachs looks on during a game against York (Pa.) during the 2016-17 season (Amy Wojtowicz photo).