After just one year as an assistant to Buzz Williams at Marquette, long-time coach and former Liberty assistant Dale Layer will be returning to Lynchburg, Va. to take over as coach of the Liberty Flames.
Liberty Director of Athletics Jeff Barber announced last Wednesday that Layer would take over the coaching position vacated by Ritchie McKay, who took a position as the associate head coach at Virginia on April 9. Layer was an assistant under McKay at Colorado State from 1998-2000 and Liberty from 2007-'08.
Layer, 50, is the eighth coach in Liberty history and takes over a Flames squad fresh off of a 23-12 record, including a 12-6 mark in the Big South conference.
"This is a new beginning," Layer said at a press conference. "It's exciting to lay on the foundation of a great university of a program that has made major strides. We've got a ways to go for national prominence; that's what we want. That's our challenge, that's our goal every day, that's what we're about."
The Flames have garnered increased national attention due to leading scorer and freshman Seth Curry, brother of Davidson star Stephen Curry and son of long-time pro Dell Curry.
"A week ago as we began our search for a new basketball coach, what I found is in starting to talk to people all over the country, is that the level of respect for Liberty basketball has increased greatly," Barber said at a press conference. "The great respect I saw two years ago at this time has really paled (to) the interest we have received this time from coaches around the country."
Liberty, however, will be without Curry, who transferred to Duke at the end of the season. The Flames also lost their
second-leading scorer, senior Anthony Smith.
Known as a great recruiter, Layer said he does not have a specific coaching style that will dictate the type of players he brings in. He cited success in player development in a variety of positions, from Jerel McNeal and Dominic James, to former Colorado State standout and current Philadelphia 76ers center Jason Smith.
Layer's coaching career began as an assistant at Eckerd College following his graduation from the school in 1980. He then spent seven seasons at Eckerd from 1980-'88 with a one-season stint as an assistant at Eastern Kentucky.
In 1988, he was hired by Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. where he started the basketball program from the ground level, then spent the next nine years as the coach and the school's athletic director.
Layer was then brought to Colorado State as an assistant under McKay, before taking over the coaching job in 2000. He spent seven seasons coaching the Rams before again following McKay to Liberty.
In his 16 years as a coach, Layer amassed a 270-193 record, totaling a 58.3 win percentage.
Layer's coaching experience was no doubt part of the reason Marquette was so successful in its first year under Williams.
"We are grateful for his daily example as a man to our players and the expertise he provided our program as a coach during his tenure here," Williams said.
He said that Marquette will begin the search for Layer's replacement immediately, but that the team has other priorities at this time.
"We will begin the search for his replacement now," Williams said. "But it will not take precedence over our current players finishing this semester academically the right way, nor impede the process of our current recruiting class as we continue to add to it."