TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats announced Thursday morning the hiring of Josh Pierre as the men’s basketball director of basketball operations.
“Josh comes to us from a basketball family who has been in the business his whole life,” head coach Nate Oats said. “Josh is a hard worker with high character and had a lot of great references with people that I trust so I am excited to get him in our program and continue to help build a winning culture here at Alabama.”
Pierre arrives to Tuscaloosa after three seasons at Elon where he served as the director of video scouting and recruiting operations for Billy Taylor & Mike Schrage. At Elon, Pierre assisted with maintaining Elon’s defensive success from the previous season, helping the unit finish third in the CAA in field goal percentage defense (43.3%). He also aided in coaching two student-athletes to all-conference honors in Hunter McIntosh (Scholar Athlete of the Year; 3rd Team) and Darius Burford (3rd Team).
The 2020-21 season marked the second for Pierre, as he played a key role in helping guide the Phoenix to a 10-9 overall record and the program’s first ever CAA Tournament Championship appearance. Pierre assisted with helping Elon’s defense improve to the top unit in the CAA and a top-50 group in the nation, holding opponents to just 65.0 points per game, a 6.7 point improvement from the 2019 season. He also aided with guiding two student-athletes to all-conference honors in Hunter McIntosh (2nd Team) and Darius Burford (All-Rookie), as well as the development of eventual NBA G-League Draft Pick Ikenna Ndugba (Greensboro Swarm).
“Erin and I are extremely thankful for this opportunity to join Coach Oats and the Alabama family,” Pierre said. “His commitment to selfless love and blue-collar mentality, along with his advanced basketball mind, equates to the unmatched culture here at Alabama. Coach Oats has hired the best staff in the country, and I am excited to help serve this program to continue bringing SEC Championships to Tuscaloosa.”
In his first season with the team in 2019-20 under head coach Mike Schrage, Elon made an appearance in its first ever CAA Tournament Semifinals round. Additionally, Pierre helped coach Elon student-athletes to seven all-conference honors and one Scholar Athlete of the Year (Hunter McIntosh). He also aided the development of eventual NBA G-League Draft Pick Ikenna Ndugba (Greensboro…
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