Evansville hires Celtics assistant Walter McCarty as coach

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) Boston Celtics assistant Walter McCarty is returning to college basketball as Evansville's head coach.

Evansville announced McCarty's selection Thursday as the replacement for Marty Simmons, who was fired this month after going 184-175 over 11 seasons during which the Purple Aces failed to make the NCAA or NIT tournaments. Evansville finished 17-15 this season, losing in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tourney.

McCarty is returning to his southern Indiana hometown, where he was a high school star. He played on Kentucky's 1996 NCAA championship team, then was a first-round draft pick of the New York Knicks as he started a 10-year NBA career.

McCarty was an assistant at Louisville and with the Indiana Pacers before joining the Celtics staff in 2013.

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