Report: Winthrop's Pat Kelsey Turns Down UMass Job On Day He Was To Be Introduced

This afternoon probably wasn't one of the high points in UMass basketball history.

The Minutemen were expected to announce a new head coach--Winthrop's Pat Kelsey, who led the Eagles to the 2017 NCAA Tournament and posted four straight winning seasons. Kelsey was to replace Derek Kellogg.

UMass even made Kelsey the header of the basketball team's official Twitter account.

Then, out of nowhere, the presser was cancelled.

https://twitter.com/MattVautourDHG/status/845004853885710336

https://twitter.com/MattVautourDHG/status/844999315194023937

Now, ESPN's Jeff Goodman has reported the reason for the cancellation. Kelsey has had a change of heart, and will stay at Winthrop.

https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN/status/845004492869382145

This is quite the awkward situation. Kelsey is coming off a 26-7 season at Winthrop and a tournament berth, and while he loses four key players from this year's team, he returns six members of his 10-man rotation, including second-leading scorer Xavier Cooks (16.5 ppg, team-high 9.1 rpg).

Now, the question remains: what direction does UMass go in?