June 1, 2012

Kloman, Cabrera set to round out men’s basketball staff

Second year head coach Steve Payne has announced the addition of two assistant coaches to the Tennessee Tech men’s basketball staff in Brian Kloman and former Golden Eagle ball player, Rick Cabrera.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --- Second year head coach Steve Payne has announced the addition of two assistant coaches to the Tennessee Tech men's basketball staff in Brian Kloman and former Golden Eagle ball player, Rick Cabrera.

Cabrera returns to his alma mater with 12 years of coaching experience at various ranks under his belt. He comes back to TTU from UT Chattanooga, where he spent four seasons under head coach John Shulman. Shulman was a former assistant coach at Tennessee Tech under Jeff Lebo.

"We appreciate Rick choosing to come back to TTU," head coach Steve Payne said of the hire. "He's a guy who has been a keystone in building the success of this program.

"Rick has history here, he wants to be here, and the passion that he will bring on a daily basis is going to help us to be successful."

Known for his strong reputation as a recruiter and evaluator of talent, Cabrera served as head coach at Lackawanna for four years prior to his stint at UTC. He accumulated a record of 100-28, winning two region titles. His 2007-08 squad went 22-9 and lost in the region semifinals. Cabrera was named region Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006 and coached three NJCAA All-Americans and eight All-Region players.

Cabrera also logged two years as an assistant coach at Keystone College in 2003 and 2004, and spent the 2001-02 season as an assistant for Miami (Fla.) Killian High School. Cabrera was also head coach and athletics director for one season (1998-99) at Volunteer Christian Academy in Sparta, Tenn.

As a collegiate player, Cabrera transferred to Tennessee Tech after two seasons at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Ind., where he played with future NBA players Shawn Marion (Miami Heat) and Tyrone Nesby (Washington Wizards). He played two seasons in Cookeville under head coach Frank Harrell, who currently serves as TTU's associate athletic director. Following his senior season, Cabrera was named the Golden Eagles MVP and earned the Sam Harley Lynn Award.

After finishing his Multidisciplinary Studies degree in 1999, Cabrera served as a graduate assistant at Tennessee Tech following his playing career there for Lebo. Cabrera worked one season on Lebo's staff and earned his master's in Instructional Leadership from TTU in 2001.

"I am overly excited to come back to Tennessee Tech," Cabrera said. "This place has been a second home to me, and when I first got into coaching, I wanted the opportunity to coach here.

"I can't thank Coach Payne enough for giving me the opportunity to come and work with him. I'm looking forward to helping this team win a conference championship and get in to the NCAA tournament."

His father Hugo Cabrera, Sr., is in the Dominican Republic's Hall of Fame and was voted its "Player of the Century". Rick has also played professional basketball in the Dominican Republic.

Cabrera is married to the former Danielle Olker of Queens, N.Y. The couple has a daughter, Mikayla, and two sons, Jaden and Braxton.

Kloman comes to TTU with 12 years experience coaching in high school, collegiate and university settings. Most recently, he was the acting assistant basketball coach at North Carolina Central University, seeing the Eagles to a 17-15 overall record, 10-6 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"Brian has a great background in coaching and great contacts in recruiting," Payne said of Kloman. "I've known Brian for a long time, since he was a young guy, and we're excited to have his talents on our staff."

An accomplished recruiter, Kloman is the founder of recruitingrumors.com, one of the fastest growing coaching and recruiting services across the country at the time of its inception in March of 2008. The websites served to help countless college coaches with player evaluations over the course of the rigorous process of recruiting.

Kloman continued to use his knowledge as a recruiter during the 2009-10 season as the recruiting and academic coordinator at Pikeville College under head coach Kelly Wells. Prior to that, he spent the 2007-08 campaign as an assistant coach and admissions counselor at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H. where he was in charge of recruiting, player development, while also working as an admissions counselor for the school.

He also spent one season as an assistant coach at Pfeiffer University where he was a member of a staff that led all Division I and II teams in scoring with a 97.7 point per game average. Kloman worked as a fulltime recruiting coordinator, JV head coach, and player development while at Pfeiffer.

From April 2002-2005, Kloman earned a position at the University of Tennessee and was put in charge of player development. He helped the UT coaching staff with recruiting, and helped run the summer camps held by the basketball program. C.J. Watson, Chris Lofton, and Jujuan Smith were players that Kloman particularly had a hand in helping them get to the next level and play professional basketball.

From 1998-2002, the Asheville, N.C., native as a student assistant with the Volunteer basketball program under former UT head coach Jerry Green. Kloman graduated from A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville in 1998 and completed his bachelor of arts, sociology degree in 2002 at UT.

"Being here is like being around family, to be honest," Kloman said. "Everything here is everything I've ever wanted. These are people I know, people I trust – seriously, it's like being around family."

The son of Mary and Chris Ferguson is married to his wife, the former Beth Pora, daughter of the Erie Times sportswriter, Chuck Pora. The couple has two daughters, Anna Bryn (5) and Delaney (one month). Kloman's father, Chris Ferguson is a longtime college basketball assistant coach, formerly at UT and currently at Oklahoma State University.