Shane Bucar, a name familiar to many high school basketball fans in the Valley, has been elevated to the position of Interim Head Coach a Northern Arizona University. Bucar spent 12 seasons as the head coach at Mesa High School and led the Jackrabbits to a 237-103 record during that span, including the 2016 Arizona Class 6A State Championship. Burcar was honored on six different occasions as the region’s coach of the year. His teams qualified for the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) State Playoffs in 10 of his 12 seasons at Mesa and captured seven region titles.
Bucar was moved up to interim head coach after Jack Murphy announced earlier in the day that he was leaving the Lumberjacks for a position at the University of Arizona basketball program.
NAU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Marlow on Bucar.
“We are fortunate to have a coach with Shane’s basketball acumen to lead our program as Interim Head Coach,” Marlow said. “Assistant Coaches Jason Sanchez and Gaellan Bewernick along with the returning talent and leadership on our squad, provide many of the necessary ingredients for Coach Burcar to lead a seamless transition. While NAU will conduct a national search for our next head coach, I won’t be surprised if Shane emerges as a very strong candidate. As has been our practice, we will put all of our efforts into the success of this season and conduct a thorough review of the program at the conclusion of the 2019-20 campaign.”
NAU released a statement from Bucar on Sunday night. “First of all, I want to thank Coach Jack Murphy for believing in me over a year ago and hiring me to be a part of this great university and basketball program. I also want to thank NAU President Dr. Rita Cheng and Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Marlow for trusting and providing me with this tremendous opportunity. My wife and our four children are excited to be a part of the Flagstaff Community. I am thrilled to get to work on the court, as well as being a positive influence in the lives of each of the outstanding students-athletes we have in our basketball program.”
