Penn State basketball fills three key staff positions
The dividends were apparent nearly immediately for Penn State basketball head coach Mike Rhoades on his arrival this spring. Bringing a staff of veteran assistant coaches with him to the Nittany Lions, the team worked to build a roster nearly from scratch.
“We have a great staff. And next to Joe, the staff has been with me, so they know what I want and what we want,” Rhoades told BWI. “So, we didn’t have to feel each other out like a new staff. And Joe and I look at the game and basketball very similar. So that was such a smooth transition for him and our staff with Joe on board.”
The move from Richmond, Va., to Penn State wasn’t comprehensive, though. Through the spring and into the summer, Rhoades has needed to fill multiple vacancies on his support staff and, more recently, to the program’s strength coordinator position.
Those spots are now solidified.
Patrick Dorney, a former head student manager at VCU, has been named the program’s director of operations. Tiana Myers Rich, most recently of Lions Legacy Club with previous stops with Northwestern women’s basketball, has been named Rhoades’ chief of staff. And, Greg Goldin, a veteran strength and conditioning coach with lengthy stops at VCU and LSU men’s basketball, has been tapped as the program’s new strength coach.
Penn State staff shuffling
The settling process has been a lengthy one for Rhoades at the onset of his Penn State tenure. Upon arriving with the Nittany Lions, within a week, one of his three assistant coaches left for another coaching opportunity at Virginia Tech.
J.D. Byers, a former player at Lebanon Valley and staffer for Rhoades at VCU, earned an opportunity to reunite with his wife and two daughters in Blacksburg. His wife, Marci, is the women’s volleyball coach for the Hokies, and a position opened on Mike Young’s staff.
“My family and I are thrilled for J.D.,” Rhoades said via press release. “J.D. has been on my staff for 12 years and this move was too good of an opportunity for him to pass up as he now gets to be together as a family with his wife, Marci, and their two daughters.”
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In turn, due to the promotion of Jimmy Martelli from director of operations, Rhoades had a separate opening to fill.
“Jimmy has been an integral member of our staff over the last six years and his elevation to assistant coach will provide a smooth transition for our program. I have no doubt that Jimmy will continue to positively impact our student-athletes and program in his new role.”
Along with the move of former chief of staff Nick Colella under Micah Shrewsberry onto Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft’s administrative staff, the Nittany Lions have now filled those two administrative positions.
Greg Goldin to fill strength coordinator position
Goldin arrives at Penn State following the departure of Greg Miskinis to Notre Dame last month. Miskinis’ tenure with the Nittany Lions spanned the coaching staffs of Patrick Chambers, the interim tag for Jim Ferry, and eventually Shrewsberry.
Upon Miskinis’ exit for South Bend, Rhoades turned to Goldin, who worked alongside Will Wade for multiple stops through the college basketball landscape. They included time at Tennessee Chattanooga, VCU, and eventually LSU. Following five seasons in Baton Rouge, La., however, Goldin turned to spend time working with the US Navy as a human performance manager.
