UNIVERSITY CENTER -- The SVSU Men's Basketball program and head coach Randy Baruth have announced changes to the coaching staff, as current assistant coach for the men's and women's teams, Tommy Twardecki, has been promoted to be the team's full-time assistant coach. The Cardinals have announced the addition of Darvin Ham to the staff as well.
Tommy Twardecki has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach on Randy Baruth's staff, working in a role assisting the women's program as well during the 2018-19 season. He moves into the full-time role for the upcoming 2019-20 campaign.
"Tommy has one of the strongest work ethics of anybody I have worked with in the profession," said Baruth, who enters his 8th season directing the program in the 2019-20 season. "He has a great attention to detail and will only grow more and more each day as he gains more experience."
Tommy previously served as an Assistant Coach at Henry Ford Community College. He was a part of a new staff that helped turnaround a 9-22 team to an 8-3 record during his time there, and the Hawks would go on to finish 22-6 and MCCAA Eastern Conference Champions. He was heavily involved in scouting and game prep, recruiting, and practice planning.
Twardecki entered the college coaching ranks as an Assistant Coach at Mott Community College for the 2016-17 season. He assisted the Bears to a 24-7 overall record and worked with Diandre Wilson, who was a 1st Team NJCAA All-American. He implemented film review and scouting reports to the Mott program, while assisting in recruiting and player development.
Tommy served as a Graduate Assistant at Grand Ledge High School while earning his Master's Degree in Kinesiology from Michigan State University in 2016. While at Grand Ledge, he was given responsibilities of recording game day stats, film breakdown, scouting, and practice planning. The Comets finished the season 16-7 and 10-4 in conference. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Biology from the University of Detroit Mercy in 2014.
Darvin Ham joins the Cardinal coaching staff after serving as the lead assistant coach for Saginaw Arthur Hill High School for the past two seasons. He was on the Delta College coaching staff for the 2016-17 season as the player development coach.
Darvin was a four-year standout at Northwood University from 2010-2014, scoring over 1,000 points and earning All-GLIAC Second Team honors in 2014, as well as GLIAC All-Defensive Team honors. He played one season overseas in Germany for the Wolfenbuttel Club Team (ProB) during the 2015-16 campaign.
Baruth added his thoughts on what the addition of Ham will mean for the Cardinals...
"Darvin brings so much credibility, both on and off the court, with his experience in the game. As he grows and gains more experience in the recruiting and daily operation aspects of the profession, he will become the total package. Our program is extremely fortunate to have both Darvin and Tommy helping lead our student-athletes!"
Ham is a 2010 graduate of Bridgeport High School, where he scored over 1,000 points in his career there as well.
Darvin graduated from Northwood University in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Entertainment, Sport and Promotion Management.
He is the son of former NBA player and current NBA coach, Darvin Ham Sr.