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Bobby Gonzalez has been named the 18th head coach in Seton Hall basketball history, it was announced on Friday by Director of Athletics Joe Quinlan.
Gonzalez, 43, comes to Seton Hall after a tremendous seven-year run as the head coach at Manhattan College. He led the Jaspers to four 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournaments in seven years, including finishing .500 or above in the league in each season. His record at Manhattan was 129-77, and his team won the MAAC regular season championship three times and the tournament title twice.
“We are very excited to add Bobby Gonzalez as our head coach to an already storied basketball tradition at Seton Hall,” Quinlan said. “Our search process was very thorough and we talked with extremely talented candidates, but in the end we felt Bobby stood out as the best coach to represent the university and lead our student-athletes. He has an established presence in the metropolitan area and his teams have been perennial winners on the court. His passion and determination to succeed will generate excitement among our alumni, fans and students and give the Seton Hall community a source of great pride.”
Gonzalez is widely known as one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the NCAA, an intense competitor, outstanding game coach and tireless recruiter.
Manhattan went 20-11 this past year and Gonzalez was named the MAAC Coach of the Year. The Jaspers advanced to the National Invitation Tournament and won two games, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson and winning at Maryland. Gonzalez led the team to a 14-4 record and the MAAC regular season title.
His best season came in 2003-04, when he guided the Jaspers to a 25-6 overall record, 16-2 in the MAAC. Manhattan was a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Championship and defeated No. 5 seed Florida in the first round before losing a close game to No. 4 seed Wake Forest. Gonzalez received numerous accolades following the season, being named NABC District 2, USBWA, and NYBCA Division I Coach of the Year as well as receiving Metropolitan Coach of the Year recognition for the second straight year.
“Bobby Gonzalez is the key leader of Seton Hall’s bold new plan for our men’s basketball program,” said Monsignor Robert Sheeran, Seton Hall University President. “Bobby is a high-energy leader whose good spirit and drive are infectious. He is the right coach for this special moment. Seton Hall basketball has an outstanding history—and I am confident Bobby Gonzalez’s tenure will be an exciting chapter in our unfolding story.”
Gonzalez coached Luis Flores, Manhattan’s all-time leading scorer, who was drafted in the second round by the NBA’s Houston Rockets in 2004. Flores played with both Denver and Golden State in 2004-05.
In 2002-03, Gonzalez led Manhattan to the MAAC regular season and league championship with a 23-7 record, 14-4 in the league. Named the MAAC Coach of the Year for his efforts, Gonzalez took Manhattan College to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. The Jaspers fell to eventual national champion Syracuse in the first round.
Gonzalez’s first overall winning season came in his third year, 2001-02, when the Jaspers finished 20-9 overall and 12-6 in the MAAC while advancing to the NIT. Manhattan was 14-15 in Gonzalez’s second season but boasted an 11-7 record in league play. In 1999-00, Gonzalez inherited a last-place team and led Manhattan to a record of 12-15 and 9-9 in the conference.
Gonzalez is no stranger to the BIG EAST and to big-time college basketball. Prior to becoming a head coach, he was an assistant on Pete Gillen’s staffs at Xavier (1993-94), Providence (1994-98) and Virginia (1998-99).
Known for his strong recruiting classes, Gonzalez possesses outstanding contacts and ties to the metropolitan area. He was assistant high school coach at Rice High School in the Bronx in 1992-93 and assistant at St. Nicholas of Tolentine from 1988-91. He was also an assistant coach at Binghamton University (1987-88) and Broome Community College (1986-87).
Gonzalez graduated from Buffalo State College in 1986 with a degree in communications.
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