O'Brien Emerson photo

Jim O’Brien, who last coached at Ohio State in 2004 before being fired for NCAA violations, has been named Emerson’s men’s basketball coach, replacing Hank Smith, who was deposed midseason.

O’Brien, who was a three-year Boston College letterman during his own undergraduate years while playing for Bob Cousy and Chuck Daly, has previously held head coaching positions at St. Bonaventure, Boston College, and Ohio State.

Smith, who was let go in mid-January, had coached for 16 years. The school said he resigned, although the players were told differently.

“We are extremely excited to have attracted someone with Jim’s talent and experience to Emerson,” said athletic director Kristin Parnell. “He will help the basketball program build on its many past successes,” she said.

O'Brien, 62, was fired at Ohio State for violations which included a cash payment of $6,000 given to a recruit. Penalties included a show-cause penalty, that any school wishing to hire him within two seasons had to show the NCAA why it should not be penalized for the hiring.

Under Smith, Emerson won two Great Northeast Athletic Conference titles (1998 and 1999) and competed in the championship game on six other occasions. The Lions have appeared in the championship three times in the past five years, most recently in 2010, falling to Albertus Magnus.

Emerson graduated only two seniors who logged significant playing time in 2011, and expects to see nine juniors (three starters), two sophomores, and a freshman return.

“I am excited to be the next men’s basketball coach at Emerson College,” O’Brien said. “During the past few years, I have become familiar with Emerson while watching other friends coach in the GNAC. Emerson is a great school and seems like a great fit for me at this time in my life. It affords my wife and I an opportunity to continue to live in Boston, a city that we love, while allowing me to focus on what I enjoy most: being in a gym and coaching a team,” he said.