ORONO – A beloved former Black Bear is returning to the men’s basketball team, but this time, he’ll be the one steering the ship.

Chris Markwood was announced as the new coach of the University of Maine’s men’s basketball team. He will be the 23rd to hold that position at the university. While this is his first collegiate head coaching gig, he has plenty of experience on the bench – he has spent the past 16 years as an assistant coach at various DI programs (including a previous stint at his alma mater).

Markwood comes to UMaine from his previous spot at Boston College, where he served as an assistant to this year’s squad. Before that he spent seven years on the staff at Northeastern, serving in a variety of capacities – after this arrival in 2014, he was an assistant coach for four years before being elevated to associate head coach and recruiting coordinator in his final three seasons with the Huskies. The three years prior to his time at Northeastern were spent as an assistant at the University of Vermont.

However, Maine fans will remember Markwood for his time here in the state – both on the floor and on the bench.

Markwood played his high school ball at South Portland High School, where he was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2000. He matriculated at Notre Dame, playing two seasons for the Fighting Irish before transferring to his home state’s flagship university. Markwood played two seasons for the Black Bears and was the team captain in his senior year; he graduated in 2005.

After graduation, he spent six years on the University of Maine coaching staff before leaving for the Vermont job.

It seems like a great hire for the Black Bears, a native Mainer and school alum taking the reins for a program that has struggled to find its way in recent years. Over the course of his coaching career, he has shown himself to be a good tactician and a solid recruiter – he’ll need to utilize both skills to the fullest to maximize the potential of what can admittedly be a tough sell of a situation.

We’ll have to wait and see what Markwood does with this opportunity – it’s his first head coaching gig, and again, UMaine’s program has faced ample obstacles in the past and has plenty looming in its future. But with a talented young coach like Markwood taking the lead, there’s reason for optimism going forward for the Black Bears.