NBA Rumors: Micah Shrewsberry Out On UMass Job, Staying With Celtics

After an eventful few days, it appears Micah Shrewsberry is keeping his current job, after all.

The Boston Celtics assistant coach is out of the running for the UMass men’s basketball coach job, a source confirmed to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald on Wednesday. The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported Tuesday that Shrewsberry held a second interview with UMass this week, but the school “decided to go in another direction.”

Shrewsberry, who’s been one of head coach Brad Stevens’ top assistants since joining the Celtics in 2013, first was rumored as a “serious candidate” for the UMass job last week following the firing of Minuteman coach Derek Kellogg. But UMass appeared to find its man — until that man, Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey, got cold feet and bailed on the job after accepting it just two days earlier.

The odd turn of events put Shrewsberry back in the mix to become the Minutemen’s head coach, but it appears those rumors finally can be put to rest.

Stevens likely will be pleased by these developments; at the team’s practice Tuesday, he called Shrewsberry one of his “best friends” and said he talks to the 40-year-old assistant “every minute of every day.”

Stevens added he would have been happy for Shrewsberry regardless of his decision, though.

“I want all of our staff to ultimately use this as a great opportunity to progress their careers,” Stevens said. “And that’s each person to a man. Whatever they decide is best for them, then I want them to pursue that.”

Thumbnail photo via screenshot from YouTube/Celtics Hotspot