SLIPPERY ROCK— Jamal Palmer believes the Slippery Rock University men's basketball program is ready to turn the corner.

If it does, it will do so without him.

Palmer, 12-42 in two years as SRU's head coach, will not return in 2008-09. His assistant coach, Marcus Hudson, also won't be back.

"We decided not to renew those contracts,"SRU athletic director Paul Lueken said. "We've decided to go in a different direction.

"Once we decided not to bring back Jamal, we knew we'd be looking for an assistant coach as well."

Palmer and Hudson had been assistant basketball coaches at Shippensburg University. Hudson became Palmer's top assistant at The Rock in September 2007.

SRUfinished 7-20 this season, 4-8 in PSAC West play. The team was 5-22, 2-10 in 2006-07 when Palmer replaced John Marhefka, who had resigned, on an interim basis.

"We're out to prove we're not the same Slippery Rock anymore,"Palmer said after a late-season victory. "We're ready to take the next step and get into the (conference) playoffs."

That didn't happen this year after The Rock dropped an overtime game at home to Clarion in the regular season finale to eliminate itself from postseason consideration.

SRUdid not defeat a team with a winning record this season. The Rock has not had a winning season nor has it reached the PSACTournament since the 1999-2000 season.

"I've run out of patience in trying to build this thing,"Lueken said of the men's basketball program. "We've had one winning season in the 14 years I've been here.

"We've got one of the best facilities in the PSAC and we're in a great location. Enough's enough. We have to get something done here."

Lueken said Palmer was "thrown into a difficult situation that he didn't quite have the experience to handle."

Before coming to The Rock, Palmer was a collegiate assistant for only three years — two at Shippensburg and one under Marhefka at SRU.

"He's a nice man with a bright coaching future," Lueken said. "It just wasn't the right fit here. He was pretty much hired on an experimental basis to see if it would work out.

"Jamal has been extremely professional in handling this decision."

Palmer lives in Indiana, Pa., and could not be reached for comment. His wife, Sasha Palmer, is the head women's basketball coach at Pitt-Johnstown.

SRUposted its head and assistant coaching vacancies on the university and NCAAwebsites Monday and has already received nearly 50 applications, Lueken said.

NCAAregulations require the positions be posted for 30 days.

"We'll review applications April 10, begin interviews by that next week and hopefully have a head coach and assistant on the road recruiting by the end of April,"Lueken said. "We're going to be very proactive on this.

"We want a seasoned head coach, either somebody who's already been a collegiate head coach for a while or someone with a lot of years as an assistant."

The Rock ended this season with no seniors on its roster. Jamar Scales has a year of eligibility remaining, but is graduating and won't retun.

Lueken said he expects two or three other players to leave because of the coaching change.

"But we've got a solid core of players coming back and we'll have some scholarship room,"he said. "We need to get our share of quality players from Western Pennsylvania because we've lost that in recent years."