New Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades announces his staff
During his introductory press conference on Thursday - Penn State's new men's basketball head coach Mike Rhoades announced the first additions to his staff in Happy Valley.
As expected, Rhoades will be bringing the majority of his staff from VCU along with the previously confirmed addition of Nittany Lions' legend Joe Crispin.
JAMAL BRUNT -- VCU ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
Brunt was VCU's Defensive Coordinator and was considered one of the best assistant coaches in all of Mid-Major, as he was recognized as one of the Top 50 Mid-Major Assistants by Silver Waves Media back in 2020.
On top of that, he also has experience working at the high major level, spending several years at Miami where he was part of the reason the Hurricanes landed their best recruiting classes ever in program history back to back, featuring names like
Lonnie Walker,Dewan Huell and Bruce Brown. He was considered the program's offensive coordinator at the time, helping Davon Reed finish with 1,300 career points and All-ACC third team and Sheldon McClellan to All-ACC second team.
He has a great track record of coaching and recruiting, plus he is a Baltimore, Maryland native and could help out with recruiting in the DMV.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
2003-05: Randolph-Macon (Asst.)
2005-07: Richmond (Director of Ops)
2007-13: Richmond (Asst.)
2013-15: Richmond (Assoc. HC)
2015-18: Miami (Asst.)
2018-2021: VCU (Asst.)
2021-PRESENT: VCU (Assoc. HC)
BRENT SCOTT -- VCU ASSISTANT COACH
A career assistant coach, Scott has been in the coaching ranks since 2007 when he was the assistant coach at Rice under then-head coach Willis Wilson. He then would be hired at LSU by Trent Johnson where he would spend the next four seasons, helping lead the Tigers to an NCAA Tournament berth in the 2008-09 season. He was also a pivotal part in the development of multiple Tigers' players including Marcus Thornton, Johnny O'Bryant III, and Justin Hamilton.
Following the 2011-2012 season, Scott made the move to TCU alongside Trent Johnson, helping the Owls make the move from the Mountain West Conference to the Big 12 Conference. He would then link up with Mike Rhoades' in 2016, going back to his alma mater of Rice, helping lead the program to a 23-win season in 2017 and a postseason berth. He's been with Rhoades ever since including each of his six seasons at VCU.
Throughout his career but especially at VCU, Scott was mostly developing the Rams' post players, helping develop names such as Justin Tillman and Marcus Santos-Silva into top-notch players for VCU.
Prior to entering the coaching world, Soctt played in Europe for 13 years after graduating from Rice in 1993. He also had a cup of coffee in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers in 1997. At Rice, Scott was the 1990 Southwest Conference Freshman of the ear and was an All-SWC selection from 1990 through 1993. He is also a member of the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
2007-08: Rice (Asst.)
2008-12: LSU (Asst.)
2012-16: TCU (Asst.)
2016-17: Rice (Asst.)
2017-23: VCU (asst.)
JD BYERS -- VCU ASSISTANT COACH
The Maryland native has ties to the Keystone State as he is a member of the Lebanon Valley College Hall of Fame and is even one of five ever to have their jersey retired by the program.
Moving on to Byers as a coach, he's been with Rhoades for quite some time originally joining his Randolph-Macon staff back in 2007, staying with him until 2009 when Rhoades left for VCU, then he eventually rejoined Rhoades at Rice in 2014 and has been with him ever since. Along with being an assistant coach, Byers was also the recruiting coordinator for the program and oversaw the 2019 recruiting class which ranked as the best in the A-10 and top 50 nationally.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
2003-05: Randolph-Macon (Asst.)
2005-07: Richmond (Director of Ops)
2007-13: Richmond (Asst.)
2013-15: Richmond (Assoc. HC)
2015-18: Miami (Asst.)
2018-2021: VCU (Asst.)
2021-PRESENT: VCU (Assoc. HC)
JIMMY MARTELLI -- VCU EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OPS
The son of legendary St. Joseph's head coach and current Michigan Assoc. HC Phil Martelli, Jimmy has made a solid name for himself so far as a coach.
During his time at Robert Morris and Rutgers, he established himself as a tutor of guards and was considered a top recruiter due to his connections throughout the Mid-Atlantic. At Robert Morris, he helped the Colonials go to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2009 and 2010. Now during his time at Rutgers, Martelli helped recruit some of the Scarlet Knight's top players in recent history including Myles Mack, Kadeem Jack, and several others.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
2005-06: Dickinson College (Asst.)
2006-07: Randolph-Macon (Asst.)
2007-10: Robert Morris (Asst.)
2010-13: Rutgers (Asst.)
2017-PRESENT: VCU (Director of Ops)
JOE CRISPIN -- ROWAN UNIVERSITY HEAD COACH
Crispin has been coaching at Rowan since 2014 and took over as the Prophs head coach prior to the 2016 season. In year three with the program, Crispin led Rowan to its 11th-ever NJAC Title and its first since 1999. On top of that this past year, he led his team to a 24-6 record and made it all the way to the D-III NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 before getting eliminated.
Along with his stellar coaching, Crispin as most of you know is one of the program's best shooters ever, hitting on 34.8% from beyond the arc and he is also the program's leader in free throw percentage, hitting at a mark of 88.5%. On top of that, he played a big role in Penn State upsetting powerhouse North Carolina in the 2001 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16.
Having someone who has such ties to the program and has put blood, sweat, and tears into the program already will certainly help Rhoades as he looks to build a stable program.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
2014-16: Rowan University - D-III (Asst.)
2016-PRESENT: Rowan University - D-III
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