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Seton Hall fires hoops coach Gonzalez

Wed 17th, March 2010

South Orange, NJ (Sports Network) - Seton Hall has fired head men's basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was in his fourth season with the team, which ended its season Tuesday with an 87-69 loss to Texas Tech in the first round of the NIT. Seton Hall went 19-13 overall.

But Patrick Hobbs, the school's law school dean who has been overseeing the athletics department since July, indicated Gonzalez's firing wasn't necessarily due to on-court performance.

"Performance and success are not measured solely by wins and losses, but also in the conduct of those associated with the program," Hobbs said. "We have expectations as to how our coaches and players will conduct themselves, and they are expected to treat everyone they interact with, whether officials, the press or our students, with the utmost respect, maturity and professionalism. Those core expectations must be met."

Back in September, Gonzalez was given a contract extension to remain with the school through the 2014-15 season.

However, this season was somewhat rocky for the Pirates. Guard Keon Lawrence was suspended for the first eight games of the season after being involved in a wrong-way car accident prior to the season's start, and late on Sunday, forward Robert Mitchell was removed from the basketball team for unspecified reasons.

Additionally, a New York Times report from last week described Gonzalez's volatile and combative behavior toward officials and media and detailed how he nearly got in a fight with a former assistant. In 2008-09, he was suspended for his team's first Big East game of the season.

"It is essential that all University leaders embody the ideals that make us all so proud of Seton Hall," said school president Monsignor Robert Sheeran.

In four seasons at Seton Hall, Gonzalez compiled a 66-59 record and 29-45 mark in the Big East.