 
|
After three seasons as Head Basketball Coach for the University of Maryland Eastern shore Fighting Hawks, Coach Thomas Trotter has generated some excitement about this year's team. The Fighting Hawks are looking forward to a positive turn around in team performance and have been picked as high as third in the MEAC in some pre-season polls. Prior to coming on board to UMES, Trotter was the first assistant men's basketball coach at New Mexico State University from 1998-2000. During the two seasons Trotter was at NMSU, the men's basketball team recieved automatic berths in the NCAA mid-West Regional, and won the Big West Championship. NMSU also swept the University of Mexico and the University of Texas-El Paso (the first time since 1970). New Mexico is where Trotter learned his tricks of the trade and fine -tuned his coaching skills, under legendary coach Lou Henson (who is the 12th winningest Division I coach in NCAA history). For a ten year span, Trotter served as the first assistant men's basketball coach at Northeastern Illinois University, in which the team was the winningest Division I program the last three out of four years in the Chicago land area. It was a team ranked last when they first went Division I. It was while at Northwestern Trotter recruited players who went on to record victories over Arizona State, Oregon State, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and Oral Roberts University (then coached by Bill Self). From 1987-88, Trotter was the head junior varsity and assistant varsity men's basketball coach at Gage Park High School in Chicago, IL, and from 1986-87 he was assistant coach at Whitney Young High School in Chicago , IL. Coach Trotter recieved his Bachelor of Arts degree in labor relations in 1985, from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. In 1994 he obtained his Master of Science Education in education-curriculum and instruction, and in 1992 he obtained his Master of Science in educational administration, both from Northwestern University. Trotter played a cameo appearance in the documentary " Hoop Dreams", and his ties to Chicago still run deep, four players are from that area. However, Trotter is the most proud of his breakthroughs in recruiting in the Maryland area, in particular the Eastern Shore. With the additions of junior college standouts, Jareem Dowling, Carl Pruitt, and Jason McKinnon, and freshman Brandon Wilson and DeWitt Scott, Trotter extended his bench with good quality; making the Hawks an even bigger threat in confrence play. This is Coach Trotter's fourth year at UMES and also his son Tee's senior year. He covets their close relationship and has enjoyed coaching Tee throughout his collegiate career. |
|||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
