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YSU names Boldon women’s basketball coach
By Joe Scalzo
Youngstown
Youngstown State is hoping a former All-America point guard can give its women’s basketball program a big assist.
Bob Boldon, a standout player at Louisville High and NAIA Walsh University in the mid-1990s, was hired to jump-start a Penguins program coming off the two worst seasons in school history.
He replaces Cindy Martin, who resigned after going 3-57 in two seasons.
Boldon spent last season as an assistant coach at Division I Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, helping the Eagles go 24-7 and earn a berth in the WNIT.
“I think it was an excellent hire by Youngstown State,” said Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko, a Kent State graduate who gave Boldon his first coaching job when he hired him as an assistant women’s coach at Walsh in 1998. “I think he will turn around the program in a very short time.
“I know if I were in a position to hire someone for a mid-major job, he’s the first person I would have called.”
This will be Boldon’s third stint as a head coach and first at the Division I level. He was the head man at Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn., in 2008-09, going 29-5 and finishing as the NAIA national runner-up. He was also the head coach at Division II Arkansas-Monticello from 2004-05, going 30-27.
Boldon, who was not available for comment, has also been an assistant at Akron, Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, Gannon, IPFW (again under Smesko), Wilmington and Walsh.
Boldon was one of 87 coaches to apply for the job, a list that included Martin’s top assistant, Bernard Scott.
YSU has not had a winning season since 1999-2000, the third and final time the Penguins went to the NCAA tournament. Then-coach Ed DiGregorio had losing seasons in his final three years, retiring after the 2002-03 season. Tisha Hill had losing seasons all five years of her tenure, going 45-97.
Cindy Martin was 3-57 in two years — including 0-30 this winter — before quitting in March with two years left on her contract.
“He doesn’t shy away from the challenge,” said Smesko. “He’s pretty excited about the opportunity to turn something around. He’s got a good sense of humor, he’s very level-headed and he’s not temperamental.
“He’s just a good coach who knows basketball and knows how to teach it.”
Boldon graduated from Walsh in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He earned a master’s in liberal studies from Indiana in 2003.
While at Walsh, he twice received All-America honors as a point guard. He left the school ranked first all-time in assists (775), fourth in scoring (1,694) and held the program’s record for assists in a season (222) and in a game (17). Boldon is expected to get a five-year deal worth $96,000 annually.
YSU had just two seniors on this year’s roster, which was decimated by injuries and academic issues. Martin often had just seven players available for games and only eight saw the court all season.
One of the lone bright spots was freshman Brandi Brown, who was the runner-up for the Horizon League newcomer of the year.
“He’s pretty excited about the opportunity and proving to Youngstown that he can be successful,” Smesko said. “I have no doubts that he will be.”