Sirin leaves 49ers

Sophomore Gokhan Sirin is leaving the 49ers' men's basketball team.

Sirin, a 6-9 forward from Istanbul, Turkey, plans to transfer, but didn't say where.

Sirin was mostly used as a 3-point shooting specialist last season and made 43.1 percent of his shots. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.2 rebounds.

“I enjoyed my time at Charlotte, but I feel I need to find a better situation for myself,” said Sirin in a statement released by the school.

“We thank Gokhan for his efforts this season as a 49er,” coach Alan Major said. “We wish him the best in all of his future endeavors.”

Lutz, Aston in new jobs

N.C. State made it official today, announcing that former 49ers basketball coach Bobby Lutz will join new coach Mark Gottfried's staff as an assistant. Lutz will be reunited with Orlando Early, one of his former assistants, with the Wolfpack.
Also, a newspaper in Denton, Texas is reporting that former Charlotte women's coach Karen Aston will be introduced Tuesday as the new coach at North Texas.

Family concerns drove Aston decision

Charlotte 49ers athletics director Judy Rose is looking for a women’s basketball coach for the fourth time in 10 years -- and she’s not happy about it.


Rose was caught by surprise Wednesday when Karen Aston -- who led the 49ers to the semifinals of the Women’s NIT this season -- resigned without having another job immediately in place.

“This is very disappointing,” said Rose. “I got no hint of this coming at all. But when somebody says it’s for family reasons, that makes it very hard.”

Aston said she is leaving because so she can be near her elderly mother and stepfather, who live in Benton, Ark.

“There’s a point where you feel like you need to be around your family,” said Aston. “It’s difficult to get there and they can’t get here. The time comes when you have some responsibility for some things with your family. That time is near with me.”

Aston wouldn’t say where her next coaching stop will be. But one possibility would appear to be North Texas, which has a job opening and is much closer to Arkansas than Charlotte. Aston spent two seasons as an assistant with the Mean Green from 1996-98 and was an assistant at Texas and Baylor for 11 other seasons, so she’s familiar with the area.

Another reason Rose was surprised by Aston’s decision was a contract extension through 2015 Aston signed last year. The contract included a $100,000 buyout

Aston had a four-year record of 86-47, which included an Atlantic 10 championship and NCAA tournament appearance in 2009. Charlotte played in the WNIT the other three seasons, including this season’s run to the tournament’s semifinals. The 49ers’ 27 victories were a school record.

In 2007, Aston replaced Amanda Butler at Charlotte. Butler had been in the job just two years and had succeeded Katie Meier, who coached the 49ers from 2001-2005.

“The women’s basketball program is not broken at Charlotte,” said Rose, who said she hopes to have a new coach hired by May 1. “But these kids need stability.”

Aston resigns from women's basketball

49ers women's basketball coach Karen Aston has resigned. Aston didn't say what her next job will be but that she wants to be nearer to her family, which lives I Arkansas. More on this later.

SoCon football opponents added

The Charlotte 49ers continue to build their football schedule for their program’s first few seasons, and have dipped into the Southern Conference for more opponents.


Charlotte, which begins football in 2013, will play home-and-home series with Georgia Southern in 2014 (Oct. 25 in Charlotte) and ’15 (Sept. 26 in Statesboro, Ga.) and Western Carolina (in Cullowhee Nov. 1, ’14 and home in '15 (date TBD) and a game at The Citadel Oct. 11, 2014.

Charlotte’s first game is Aug. 31, 2013 at home against Campbell. Groundbreaking for the school’s on-campus stadium is April 28.

Adams added to football staff

49ers football coach Brad Lambert added a second assistant to his staff Monday, hiring former Wake Forest linebacker James Adams as defensive position coach.
Adams, 26, who was Wofford’s cornerbacks coach last season and spent two years on Wake Forest’s staff in 2008-09, will be one of Lambert’s top recruiters for a program that begins playing in 2013.
A native of Durham, Adams played 20 games for Lambert from when he was Wake Forest’s linebackers coach. He came back from a knee injury in 2004, making 10 tackles in 10 games as a senior in 2005. He was a graduate assistant at Wake Forest in 2008 and a recruiting coordinator assistant in 2009.
“Very high character,” Lambert said of Adams. “He’s sat in the same room with (me) before, so he knows what (I’m) about and how (I) do things.”
Adams’ specific spot on the defensive staff hasn’t been set yet, and likely won’t be until Lambert hires a defensive coordinator. Lambert said Adams will likely be the team’s secondary or linebackers coach, however.
Lambert has already hired offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen and can hire another assistant in May before filling out his staff in 2012.
The timing of Adams’ hiring means he’ll be one of the 49ers’ key recruiters. They can begin actively recruiting on April 15, although Lambert said they already have a board set up on a wall in their temporary offices in Charlotte’s athletic department.
“We’ve got who we need at what position and how many we can take, things like that,” Lambert said. “This is when it’s fun.”

McCallum earns spot on WNIT all-tournament team

Charlotte senior guard Shannon McCallum was named to the Women's National Invitational Tournament all-tournament team after helping the 49ers reach the Final Four for the first time in school history.

McCallum averaged 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and over two assists in the WNIT.

-- Observer News Services