NEW ORLEANS -- University of Arkansas at Little Rock men's basketball Coach Wes Flanigan was fired Friday morning, Athletic Director Chasse Conque announced, two days after the Trojans finished with the most single-season losses in program history.
Flanigan had a 22-42 record in two seasons, and UALR finished this season 7-25 after a 93-64 loss Wednesday afternoon to Appalachian State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The losses surpassed the 1999-2000 season (4-24), and then-first year coach Sidney Moncrief also did not return the next season.
Flanigan's four-year, $300,000 per year contract was due through April 14, 2020, and the contract stated that "in the event UALR terminates your employment," Flanigan would be paid $125,000 for each year remaining on his contract. According to the contract, Flanigan will be due $250,000.
Flanigan did not respond to phone calls made Friday by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The search for a new coach will begin immediately, UALR announced.
"I am appreciative to coach Flanigan for his service to the university and our basketball program," Conque said in a statement. "At the conclusion of each season I evaluate each of our programs. Based on where we stand today, we felt our men's basketball program needed a change in leadership."
Flanigan said after Wednesday's loss that "nobody's said anything about my future," and that he and Conque would likely have a postseason evaluation "in the next couple of days or maybe next week."
"I'm looking forward to that," Flanigan said. "But again, we've got to get these guys better. We've got to do a much better job."
Conque drove to Arkansas after the Trojans women's game Thursday afternoon to meet with Flanigan in person, UALR said, and Conque drove back to New Orleans on Friday.
Flanigan was hired March 31, 2016, three days after former coach Chris Beard left for UNLV before eventually changing course to Texas Tech. Flanigan had spent 17 seasons as an assistant coach and was the associate head coach during Beard's only season at UALR, when the Trojans went 30-5 in 2015-2016, won the Sun Belt Tournament and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing 78-61 to Iowa State.
Flanigan, who was born in Little Rock, was named the 1992-1993 Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Arkansas while playing for his father, Al, at Little Rock Parkview.
Flanigan played guard at Auburn from 1993-1997, and he entered coaching after he had surgery to remove bone sarcoma in his upper left arm in May 1996.
"As someone who was born and raised in Little Rock, this is a dream come true," Flanigan said when he was hired.
UALR went 15-17 in Flanigan's first season, and the No. 10-seeded Trojans lost 78-71 to No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament.
Before this season, the Trojans lost junior guard Deondre Burns (7.0 points per game) to an MCL injury, and Flanigan permanently suspended leading scorer and sophomore guard Andre Jones (12.3 points per game) on Feb. 5 "due to conduct detrimental to the program." Sophomore starting guard Ryan Pippins missed losses to Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State with a concussion, and 6-11 senior forward Wadly Mompremier was limited to 13.7 minutes per game due to knee swellings from a previous injury.
"We went through a lot," Flanigan said after Wednesday's loss to Appalachian State. "Just having guys in and out of the lineup, we could never really establish a rhythm really all season."
UALR finished the season last in the Sun Belt in six statistical categories: scoring offense (63.7 points per game), scoring margin (-5.6), free-throw percentage (61.3), three-point shooting percentage (32.4), three-pointers made (6.3 per game) and steals (4.9 per game). The Trojans also finished 11th in shooting percentage (42.9), 10th in assists (12.2 per game) and ninth in total rebounds (34 per game).
UALR's highest ranking was fourth in scoring defense (69.3 points allowed per game).
The average home attendance was 2,027, which was the second-lowest average in the history of the Jack Stephens Center. It was the lowest since the 2014-2015 season (1,408), when former coach Steve Shields was fired after the Trojans went 13-18. Reported attendance jumped to 3,750 per game during the 30-5 season the next year.
Throughout the season, Flanigan had intimated the need for patience and understanding. When he spoke at the Downtown Tip Off Club in North Little Rock on Feb. 5, he said "the road to victory often comes from failure," and pointed out that Kansas Coach Bill Self had gone 6-21 in his first year in college coaching.
"There's a lot of people who've been in this situation before, and they've overcome it," Flanigan said Wednesday. "We need a little time to overcome it."
Sports on 03/10/2018