April 17, 2007

Fresno, Calif. - As with successful college basketball programs, coaching turnover is almost expected. Fresno State's successful run under head coach Steve Cleveland cost him two assistant coaches recently.

Cleveland wasted little time finding replacements with the hiring of Jeff Reinert as associate head coach and Lee Moon as assistant coach. In addition, Senque Carey, who served the last two seasons as an assistant coach will be receiving additional responsibilities and move up to the No. 2 assistant position.

The openings happened when former Fresno State associate head coach Heath Schroyer was named the head coach at the University of Wyoming, taking with him former Bulldog assistant Fred Langley.

"It's the nature of the business to lose coaches when you have success," Cleveland said. "I'm thrilled for Heath and the opportunity he and Fred have at Wyoming. At the same time, it creates new opportunities for some outstanding young men and I'm really excited to add Jeff Reinert and Lee Moon to our staff, plus promote Senque Carey."

Reinert comes to Fresno State from Oregon State University. Reinert spent the past five seasons as the lead assistant under head coach Jay John. He helped the Beavers reach the NIT in 2004-05. Prior to joining Oregon State, Reinert was head coach at Utah Valley State College. Reinert will be associate head coach under Cleveland and will handle scheduling, recruiting, defense and development of post players.

While at UVSC, located in Orem, Utah, Reinert led the program (then a two-year school) to a mark of 179-77. He left the program as the school's all-time winningest coach (having won 70 percent of his games), and as the only coach to lead the program to the national tournament. During the 2001-02 season, UVSC beat a pair of No. 2-ranked teams, Barton County and Dixie State. Dixie State's loss was its last of the season as it went on to capture the NJCAA national championship.

Reinert's teams won at least 20 games six times and never posted a losing record. The 1995-96 Wolverines captured the Scenic West Athletic Conference title, and he was selected the Region 18 Coach of the Year. During his tenure at UVSC, Reinert sent more than 40 players to four-year colleges.

Reinert came to UVSC from Brigham Young University, where he served as an assistant coach for three years (1992-1994). The Cougars had three straight 20-plus win seasons and an overall record of 72-26 while Reinert was a member of the staff. In those three seasons, BYU won two Western Athletic Conference titles, earned two NCAA Tournament berths and made one NIT appearance.

Reinert's other coaching positions have included the University of Nebraska (1990-91), Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa (1987-88 and 1988-89) and Bremer State High School in Ipswich, Australia (1985-86).

The Bellingham, Wash., native began his college career at the University of New Mexico, where he lettered in 1980-81 and 1981-82, before transferring to Gonzaga University and lettering in 1983-84 and 1984-85. Reinert was voted to the West Coast Conference's All-Academic team as a senior. As a junior, he was a teammate of NBA All-Star John Stockton.

The 44-year-old Reinert is a 1985 graduate of Gonzaga with a degree in physical education. He earned a master's degree in education administration from Drake University in 1988 and has also completed work towards his doctorate. An advocate of higher education, Reinert is also the founder of the Todd Curran Memorial Scholarship Fund in his home state of Washington. This fund awards two $5,000 scholarships to graduating seniors every year. Reinert has awarded more than 20 scholarships since he started the fund.

Jeff and his wife Trish, a former college basketball player at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, have one daughter, Gretchen (7).

"Jeff brings a wealth of knowledge to our program," said Cleveland. "He's been a part of successful programs as a head coach and as an assistant coach. He comes to us from the Pac-10, where he spent the last five years. We are really excited to get Jeff on board."

Moon returns to Fresno State after serving as an assistant coach at Morehead State last season. Moon was Fresno State's video coordinator for the 2005-06 season.

Prior to Morehead State and his first stint at Fresno State, Moon was a graduate assistant for Billy Donavan at the University of Florida. Among his duties for the Gators included assisting with film exchange and film breakdown, recruiting mailings, Donavan's coaches' clinics and camps, team travel and individual instruction.

Moon is a 2002 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and was a member of the basketball team for one season. He was a two-year letterwinner at Texas Christian University before transferring to UNC Wilmington. He earned a master's degree at Florida in 2005.

He and his wife, the former Annette Lorentzson of Daytona Beach, Fla., were married in May.

"Lee is very familiar with our players and program having been here a year ago" Cleveland said. "He is an impressive young man. His experience at Florida and working for Billy Donovan and that program for a couple of years provides him with some real unique experiences. He's a go-getter kind of a guy and we are glad he's returning to Fresno State."