Longtime boys basketball coach Mike Daniel, who enjoyed success at Towson Catholic and City, has confirmed that he will coach at New Town this coming school year.
Daniel will take over for coach Mike Salapata, who led the Titans to the Class 1A state title game and a 21-6 mark last season. Daniel, who coached at Severn last year, said the paperwork to become New Town's new coach was finalized a couple weeks ago and he's looking forward to his latest coaching challenge.
"It's a great opportunity. I'm going to try to establish my brand of basketball which is defense first," Daniel said. "We want to develop a sound academic outfit and pull things together to build a nice solid and steady program for next year and many years to come."
Daniel spent 20 years at now-defunct Towson Catholic, capturing four Baltimore Catholic League titles between 1989 and 1998. In 2006, he took over at City and captured two state titles in five seasons before moving on to Severn last year.
"When the opportunity came up I was immediately interested because it's only 15 minutes away from my house," Daniel said. "I've only had the chance to see the kids play once, so I'm not sure exactly what I have. We'll be young, but the junior varsity did well and they made it to states last year. My eyes and ears will be open."
