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Press release on Chew
Columbia, Mo. - Missouri Basketball Head Coach Frank Haith added to his impressive coaching staff on Friday, as he announced that former Murray State assistant coach Isaac Chew has been hired to the same position at Mizzou.
Another of the country’s top young recruiters and instructors, Chew brings ties to Missouri after playing collegiately at Avila University in Kansas City, Mo., and earning his MBA at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan. Chew was instrumental in the development of Kansas City’s elite AAU-level talent as he coached with the Kansas City Pump N’ Run, the same program that produced current Tigers Marcus Denmon, Steve Moore and Michael Dixon.
“This is just an outstanding fit for our program,” Head Coach Frank Haith said. “First of all, I have great respect for the work Isaac has put in to rise up the coaching ranks. He is a tireless worker and his players always come first to him. He is well-respected across the state of Missouri and bottom line, he is a winner. Whether at Indian Hills or at Murray State, his teams won and won big and he was a big part of that success.”
A native of Chicago, Chew helped recruit a number of key players to Billy Kennedy’s Murray State Racers club. He is credited with attracting players such as Isacc Miles (Kansas City) and Ivan Aska to Murray State and both players earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors during their tenures. He was also named by FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman as one of the top assistant coaches in the OVC for his efforts over the past four seasons.
“It’s great to be coming back to Missouri and to be at Mizzou, with Coach Haith, is a dream come true,” Chew said. “It’s important to me that I thank Coach Kennedy, his wife Mary, Athletics Director Allen Ward and everyone at Murray State. I’ve learned so much these past four seasons and they helped put me in a position to come back to Missouri. I also want to thank Coach Haith. To have an opportunity to work and learn from him is just a tremendous career opportunity. Most of all, it’s great to be back working with the great coaches in our state. You look all over the country and you see young men from our state making a name nationally at the college and professional levels. That’s a testament to the coaching and work that goes on here. I’m glad to be a part of this once again.”
As Haith mentioned, Chew is a winner. He was a key part of a Murray State program that won 31 games in 2009-10 and advanced to the second round of NCAA Tournament play. That Racer squad won both the OVC regular season and postseason titles and this year’s club finished 23-9 overall and won the OVC regular-season crown once again. Over his four seasons in Murray, Ky., the Racers won 91 games and never finished worse than a tie for second place in the OVC regular-season standings.
Chew began his coaching career at his alma mater (Avila) from 1999-01. After a six year stint as a director of finance in the corporate world, Chew returned to coaching in 2004, serving once again as an assistant coach at Avila, before moving on to Indian Hills Community College (Ottumwa, Iowa) and eventually Murray State in 2007. At Indian Hills the team advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., and finished the year with a 34-2 overall record.
Chew also brings Chicago Public League ties to Columbia. He was the Public League Blue West Player of the Year at Wells High School and began his college career at Iowa Lakes Community College from 1994-96. He finished his two-year career at Avila in 1999.
Chew and his wife, Patrice, are the proud parents of two children, Patrick and Jada.
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