Rick Samuels will not be on the sidelines for his 26th season as the Eastern men’s basketball head coach since the athletic department announced Friday they would not renew Samuels’ contract.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my 25 years of coaching young men at Eastern,” Samuels said. “I’m privileged to have been part of this for three decades.”

But Samuels also made it clear that he was not ready to leave the school yet.

“I did not want to leave Eastern,” he said.

Samuels’ 25-year run as Eastern head coach was the second longest any active coach had been at a Division I school behind Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s 29 years.

Senior forward Andy Gobczynski said Samuels was asked to resign, but he would not.

The Panthers finished the season 12-16, losing 72-68 to Tennessee Tech on Tuesday in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

“I also understand today’s coaching profession,” Samuels said. “Final judgment is wins and losses.”

Samuels’ career record at Eastern was 360-360, and the team’s last NCAA Tournament appearance came in the 2000-01 season.

Samuels and his three assistants will not be retained in a coaching capacity.

Rich McDuffie, Eastern director of athletics, said deciding not to renew Samuels’ contract wasn’t an easy decision, but the team hadn’t been competitive enough.

“The one thing I always say is that Rick Samuels won’t embarrass you,” McDuffie said. “He didn’t; he managed the basketball program the way you want it managed.”

Despite McDuffie’s thoughts on Samuels as a person, there were expectations of winning that weren’t met, he said.

McDuffie watched Tuesday night’s loss to Tennessee Tech.

Eastern President Lou Hencken said after watching the team play this season, he knew the importance of the team’s success.

“I sat through those games, and I just rooted harder than most of those people because I knew what was at stake,” Hencken said. “When balls bounced off the rim, I think I cringed about as much as he did.”

The Panthers started the OVC schedule with four straight road losses before rebounding to finish 7-9 in the league – good enough for the eighth seed in the conference tournament.

Samuels said he thought the Panthers showed over the last months of the season that they will be a tough team next year.

“I believe we have several outstanding young players who will return next year,” he said.

“These kids are going to be good next year.”

The Panthers have lost four seniors to graduation with the conclusion of the season- Gobczynski, guard Emanuel Dildy, forward Aaron Patterson and guard Jason Wright.

McDuffie said there wasn’t a set amount of wins that would have kept Samuels on the sidelines – even if the Panthers had won the OVC Tournament and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

“Guessing what could’ve happened won’t get you anywhere,” McDuffie said.

Samuels said he’s proud of the way his time at Eastern was spent.

“I’m not leaving in a cloud of controversy,” he said. “I’m not embarrassed by anything right now; I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in over 25 years here.”

Samuels said he’s enjoyed his time in Charleston.

“Charleston has been a great place to raise a family,” Samuels said. “My wife and daughters count it a blessing to have been a part of this community for 25 years.”

Now that he won’t be coaching the Panthers, Samuels said he’s unsure what the future will hold.

“I’ll take a little time here to see what may develop,” he said. “I’m excited about what opportunities are next.”

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