Basketball Pike hires Marlon Williamson as assistant coach

[rutgershoopsinsider]

Per Jerry Carino

TheKnightReport - Rutgers Hoops tabs Marlon Williamson as new assistant coach

Rutgers Basketball has decided to make Marlon Williamson their newest assistant coach.

rutgers.rivals.com

 

[mb5789]

Current assistant coach at Central Michigan. Previously an assistant at Long Island, Pitt and UMass. Been an assistant coach at the D1 level for 11 years. Was an assistant with Brandin Knight at Pitt

 

[kcg88]

I am... uninspired by that choice but Pikiell has always been about hitting singles and doubles and emphasizing fit versus swinging for the fences and risking a strikeout.

 

[NickRU714]

Guess it really was a "strange" hire.

Was this guy on any of the lists from "insiders" or martial arts related Twitter accounts?

Seems to be a lot of "missed" insider information lately (Mag leaving, Spencer leaving, coaching hire canidates).

 

[RUtrumpet92]

I know nothing about him, just found this after a quick search:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...coach-at-central/id1575847241?i=1000535113213

 

[in22]

I like that he has a Knight connection but he has another point guard background. Needed a big guy coach. Maybe the other open role will fill that need.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Maybe he’s playing defense? Trying to retain Knight?

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Another home run hire by Pike.....love the BKnight connection as well, will pay dividends very soon.

 

[RUPete]

I totally predicted this.

 

[MV9000]

Never heard of the guy. Why is this a homerun outside of him knowing Knight, which i still dont know why thats a huge perk lol.

 

[kcg88]

Never heard of the guy. Why is this a homerun outside of him knowing Knight, which i still dont know why thats a huge perk lol.

Keeping Knight happy = keeping Knight here = keeping Ace here

 

[ru66]

gee--our insider was right on top of this--never believe the gossip

 

[aplus29]

CMU has 4 portal players including a guard drawing interest from ND and Oregon and a backup big…seems like this could be an answer to our roster holes

 

[RUPete]

One thing Richie always said about this process on the podcast was that it was very stealth with little or no leaks. That's why we shouldn't be surprised that this is a surprise.

 

[Pancho1939]

what a disaster. First we lose ndongo, then we lose cam and now we hire a coach from the midwest who hasnt been apart of a winning program since his 2 years at pitt 8 years ago. If i was pikiell i would be very worried. Every staff he has been has has/was going to get fired. Jamie Dixon was on his way out(Dixon didnt bring him to TCU), kellogg was on his way out at UMASS, got fired from LIU Brooklyn and just left a staff that was 17-44 in his two years there.....

I guess bad things do come in 3s.

 

[MV9000]

Keeping Knight happy = keeping Knight here = keeping Ace here

If this job was in so much demand and so highly regarded im sure theres plenty of better coaches who Knight likes that could of done it.

Underwhelmed is an understatement here.

 

[RutgersChow]

I like that he has a Knight connection but he has another point guard background. Needed a big guy coach. Maybe the other open role will fill that need.

Don't need a big man to teach big men.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Don't need a big man to teach big men.

Why do people keep repeating that....lol

 

[RepeatedCrown6]

Guess it really was a "strange" hire.

Was this guy on any of the lists from "insiders" or martial arts related Twitter accounts?

Seems to be a lot of "missed" insider information lately (Mag leaving, Spencer leaving, coaching hire canidates).

Are you a jerk to everyone or just when you can hide behind a computer ?

 

[Pancho1939]

If this job was in so much demand and so highly regarded im sure theres plenty of better coaches who Knight likes that could of done it.

Underwhelmed is an understatement here.

Why are we making coaching decisions based on brandin? his opinion should certainly be taken into consideration but to make this hire is mind boggling...

 

[cm_13]

Why do people keep repeating that....lol

Its funny. Just a few months ago pretty much every comment I read here was about how outdated any post-centric offense was and how dynamic guard play is what leads to success success in the tournament.

 

[MADHAT1]

Why are we making coaching decisions based on brandin? his opinion should certainly be taken into consideration but to make this hire is mind boggling...

could be not just because of Knight but because of Williamson's recruiting ability and he fits the type of assistant Pike wants on his staff.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

What happened to the Princeton genius that everyone but me has heard of?

 

[rucoe89]

Another home run hire by Pike.....love the BKnight connection as well, will pay dividends very soon.

What would you base the "home run hire" comment on? Seems solid and hard to question Pikiell so far on coaching choices (e.g., TJ seems to be a strong hire), but not much seems to be out there on this individual.

 

[Scarlet Blind]

On his C. Michigan page,

Prior to UMass, Williamson spent nine years working with The Family, a Detroit-based AAU program. He served as head coach and president of Youth Operations and also oversaw scouting, scheduling, academic progress monitoring and counseling. Among the players who were members of The Family during Williamson's time with the organization are Joe Crawford (Kentucky), Jordan Crawford (Indiana/Xavier), Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis), Draymond Green (Michigan State), Malik Hairston (Oregon) and James Young (Kentucky).

Produced a pretty good list of college players

Marlon Williamson - Men's Basketball Coach - Central Michigan University Athletics

Marlon Willamson was added to Tony Barbee's staff in May, 2021 as an assistant coach. Known as a top-notch recruiter with extensive ties in Detroit and the state

cmuchippewas.com

As a player

Marlon Williamson College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Marlon Williamson - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

 

[Pancho1939]

could be not just because of Knight but because of Williamson's recruiting ability and he fits the type of assistant Pike wants on his staff.

i do not know individual players he has recruited but he has not been apart of a successful program other than pitt for two year where all pitt fans wanted jamie dixon fired....It doesnt make sense unless brandin vouched hard for him.

 

[RUPete]

i do not know individual players he has recruited but he has not been apart of a successful program other than pitt for two year where all pitt fans wanted jamie dixon fired....It doesnt make sense unless brandin vouched hard for him.

And how did that firing work out for Pitt? I am going to choose to be optimistic on this because it's a better choice than being pessimistic. I do like the AAU background in the Detroit area, but I'd be lying if I said I know a ton about this coach.

 

[NickRU714]

What happened to the Princeton genius that everyone but me has heard of?

MacConnell.
I had never heard of him either.

I believe the quote was "It would be strange if anyone but him was hired."
So much for that.

 

[Knight Shift]

I totally predicted this.

 

[MADHAT1]

And how did that firing work out for Pitt? I am going to choose to be optimistic on this because it's a better choice than being pessimistic. I do like the AAU background in the Detroit area, but I'd be lying if I said I know a ton about this coach.

That's the reason why we should give Pike the benefit of doubt when looking at this hire.
Seems like a 3rd man on totem pole position that the experience over the years will make him someone to be counted on in the future of Knight finds a HC spot.
This hire might be getting him into the program because he has the potential to move up in Pike's pecking order without a hitch when Brandin finds a HC position

 

[cm_13]

That's the reason why we should give Pike the benefit of doubt when looking at this hire.
Seems like a 3rd man on totem pole position that the experience over the years will make him someone to be counted on in the future of Knight finds a HC spot.
This hire might be getting him into the program because he has the potential to move up in Pike's pecking order without a hitch when Brandin finds a HC position

We could’ve hired Phil Jackson as an assistant and people on here would’ve complained about how outdated the triangle is.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

MacConnell.
I had never heard of him either.

I believe the quote was "It would be strange if anyone but him was hired."
So much for that.

That's one Ivy League infatuation viewpoint.....he wasn't getting hired and has a resume much less impressive than other candidates.

I'm going to reserve comments for what I have learned about the hire and sit back with the results that come in. Brandin Knight has another coach he knows, that knows how to recruit and is well connected.

Hiring some non-descript Ivy League assistant, that is going to revolutionize the RU offense and not recruit?? Nah.....no thanks.....that's fantasy land, this is the B1G and the competition is legitimate.

 

[rutgersfandan]

Hiring some non-descript Ivy League assistant, that is going to revolutionize the RU offense and not recruit?? Nah.....no thanks.....that's fantasy land, this is the B1G and the competition is legitimate.

1. Sweet 16 associate head coach who signed one of the most NBA-ready prospects from the Ivy League in decades

2. Nobody said he'd revolutionize the offense, but a new flavor of offense wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

3. Not recruit? Widely considered one of the best recruiting assistants in the Northeast

Can't stand by and let someone talk about a former Rutgers manager and Loyal Son like that.

 

[Pancho1939]

We could’ve hired Phil Jackson as an assistant and people on here would’ve complained about how outdated the triangle is.

come on. This hire is extremely underwhelming. With this hire we should have just brought back ben asher.

 

[MadRU]

I’m confused. Is this a home run hire or a disaster? Look at me asking people that have no idea of his coaching/recruiting prowess.

 

[cm_13]

come on. This hire is extremely underwhelming. With this hire we should have just brought back ben asher.

Why is it extremely underwhelming?

 

[Pancho1939]

Why is it extremely underwhelming?

because he has not been apart of a winning program since Pitt when Jamie Dixon was ran out of town and did not take Williamson to TCU with him.

2022-2023 Central Michigan - 10-21
2021-2022 Central Michigan - 7-23
2020-2021 LIU Brooklyn 9-9
2019-2020 LIU Brooklyn 15-18
2018-2019LIU Brooklyn 16-16
2017-2018 LIU Brooklyn 18-17
2016-2017
2015-2016 Pitt 21-12
2014-2015 Pitt 19-15
2013-2014 UMASS 24-9
2012-2013 UMASS 21-12

when Georgia Tech who has 2 NCAA tournaments, 3 coaches and 5 winning seasons in 15 years, hires a new coach they steals Karl Hobbs a man with a fantastic basketball resume from a Big 10 program coming off of 3* NCAA tournaments in 4 years, taking a 4 star recruit with him.

When Rutgers who has 3* NCAA tournaments in 4 years, loses this assistant, they replace him with a coach from a bad mid major program and the NEC with no recruits, with a coaching resume that needs work.

 

[RUPete]

We could’ve hired Phil Jackson as an assistant and people on here would’ve complained about how outdated the triangle is.

And you forgot that he smoked too much pot in Montana.

 

[RUtrumpet92]

I gotta say, on first glance this does not look like an obvious home run type of hire. But the proof will be in how he recruits and what he brings to player development, and I have no way of judging Coach Smoke in either aspect. So let's hope for the best!

 

[RUJMM78]

I don't think Pikiell was looking for a high profile assistant coach.He wants someone with prior experience but not likely to leave in the next couple years and not requiring a high salary .The preference remains guards as assistant coaches .I still believe a assistant coach who played a front court position is worthwhile in teaching fundamentals.Most college teams have that balance.