HAMILTON, N.Y. (CBS) - Mike McGarvey was one of the best basketball players in Division III history when he wore an Ursinus College uniform, in Collegeville, Pa. (see related story).  Since graduation in 2006, he had served as an assistant coach for head coach Kevin Small at his alma mater.

But now, McGarvey is getting his first taste of Division I, having recently accepted a position as an assistant coach at Colgate, of the Patriot League.

“(I’m) really excited about the opportunity at Colgate University — such a prestigious academic school,” McGarvey told KYW’s Matt Leon, “but also with a lot of nice tradition and history in men’s hoops.  I’m so excited to have the opportunity to jump to Division I and work with scholarship-level players, but also excited to be at Colgate.”

You can hear Matt Leon’s full interview with Mike McGarvey in the CBS Philly SportsPod…

Colgate’s new head coach is Matt Langel, a University of Pennsylvania product who spent the last five seasons as Fran Dunphy’s assistant at Temple.  Another assistant, Dave Klatsky, was also a player at Penn, so the Raiders staff definitely has a “Philly area” feel to it.

McGarvey says it was a tough decision to leave Ursinus.

“Obviously I’ve been there for a while and have a lot of stake in the place as an alum and also as a coach,” he says.   “And I think they are going to be really good here in the future.  (I) have a strong connection with the current players on the roster.  But the gut feeling and the advice from Coach Small — to go ahead and try to take a step and work at a higher level and learn from a bunch of really talented people in Coach Langel and the rest of this staff — was something I just couldn’t give up.”

Langel and McGarvey will be working to improve a Colgate team that went 7-23 a year ago.

Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060

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