Siena names Buonaguro to replace McCaffery

Siena hired Mitch Buonaguro to replace Fran McCaffery, who was named head coach at Iowa last week.

McCaffery's wife, Margaret, attended today's news conference. Buonaguro publicly thanked McCaffery for helping him get the job.

"I spoke with him yesterday. I already miss him," Buonaguro said in the news conference. "I worked for Fran for seven years and he's a big reason why I'm here.

"We came to Siena to chase perfection and along the way we caught excellence.

"The one thing about Fran is he always reached for the stars. He wasn't going to settle for mediocrity."

In an interview last week with The Gazette, McCaffery said it was "very likely" he would hire Buonaguro as an assistant at Iowa if he wasn't hired at Siena. McCaffery met with Andrew Francis, a Siena assistant, on Wednesday and it appears likely Francis will join the Iowa program.

If Francis is hired at Iowa, that still leaves two assistant positions open, plus a graduate assistant slot. Among the names mentioned for the spot include former Central Florida Coach Kirk Speraw, current Iowa assistant Chad Walthall and Siena assistant Adam Chaskin. McCaffery said during his press conference that a former Iowa player also will be considered for a coaching position.

NCAA rules allow coaches to begin recruiting at noon today, and McCaffery is on the road. He said last week he plans to meet with Iowa's signees to ensure they remain committed to the school.