NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Iona College men's basketball head coach
Tim Cluess announced the appointment of
Garee Bryant as an assistant coach. Bryant joins the staff after spending the last six seasons as a varsity assistant coach at Mount Vernon High School.
“I’ve known Garee from both his playing days and now his coaching days and his ties to the local high school and AAU programs will prove invaluable for our program,” said Cluess. “Garee will bring a tremendous work ethic along with teaching ability. He is highly regarded among his peers in the area and we are very excited to have him on board.”
Under the tutelage of long-time head coach, Bob Cimmino, Bryant helped lead the Knights to three New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships, three New York State Federation of Secondary Schools Athletic Associations championships and six Section I titles. Bryant helped mentor several Division I players during his time at his alma mater including Iona College graduate
Dexter Gray. He also helped to develop Rutgers’ Michael Coburn and Jonathan Mitchell, West Virginias’ Kevin Jones, Pittsburgh’s Keith Benjamin, George Mason’s Sharrod Wright and UMass’ Chris Lowe. In addition to his duties along side Cimmino on the varsity bench, Bryant was also the Knights' junior varsity head coach for five years.
Bryant has also served as coach for numerous basketball camps such as MVP, Five-Star, Hoop Group and Syracuse University. Since 2005, he has coached with the Westchester Hawks AAU Program, where he groomed some of the best talent around the county. In 2009, the Hawks finished fourth at AAU Nationals, falling to the eventual national champion Ohio Red. The squad also finished first in the 17-and-Under Providence Jam Fest. The Westchester Hawks U-17 squad began the 2010 campaign as the No. 9 team in the country. Two standout performers for the Hawks that now play at the Division I level are Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick and Syracuse’s Mookie Jones.
A native of Mount Vernon, NY, Bryant began playing basketball his junior year in high school, under the influence of Cimmino. Along with teammate and former Iona point guard John McDonald, Bryant helped lead Mount Vernon to back-to-back Section I Championships in 1994 and 1995. Bryant continued his playing career at the college level and graduated in 1999 from Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus. He completed time at C.W. Post as one of the top performers in school history. He graduated as the program’s top all-time point scorer and currently ranks No. 2 on the list with 1,835 points. He also holds the single game scoring mark with 47 points vs. Southampton College.
Bryant earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from C.W. Post and is currently working on a master's degree in Education.
