Syracuse announces hiring of fourth assistant coach

Syracuse announced the hiring of assistant men’s basketball coach Jamal Brunt on Wednesday in a release.

Brunt, formerly the associated head coach at Penn State, is the fourth coach to be announced this week. On Monday, the Orange also announced assistant coaches Ben Lee, Arinze Onuaku and Ryan Daly as members of new head coach Gerry McNamara’s staff.

The Brunt File

Brunt played at Randolph-Macon, and his team earned NCAA Tournament berths in the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

He remained at his alma mater as a coach with Mike Rhoades for two seasons where they earned two more tournament berths.

Brunt then became director of operations at Richmond in 2005, and was promoted to assistant coach after two seasons. He was elevated to associated head coach in 2013.

The Spiders made six postseason appearances while Brunt served under Chris Mooney, and they were in the NCAA Tournament in the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Later years as a 'coordinator'

Following his time at Richmond, he was an assistant coach in the role of ‘offensive coordinator’ under Miami coach Jim Larranaga where the Hurricanes were selected for three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

After Rhoades took over at VCU, Brunt rejoined his coaching staff in the 2019 season. The Rams went 25-8 that year, and made it to the NCAA Tournament Following the 2022 season, he was promoted to associated head coach. Brunt was named one of the 50 Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches by Silver Waves Media in 2020.

Rhoades then took the Penn State job in 2023 and Brunt followed him as associate head coach and defensive coordinator. He is widely known in the recruiting space, and helped Penn State secure a top 25 class in his first season with the Nittany Lions.

McNamara's busy week

It has been a busy week for McNamara since he assumed the role of head coach. Aside from naming four assistant coaches, he was busy as the portal opened on Tuesday. Siena guard Gavin Doty committed to the Orange a day after he received a commitment from Slovenian forward Mark Morano Mahmutovi.

McNamara, a former SU coach and player, returned to Syracuse following two seasons leading Siena. In his second season, he led the Saints to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010, and his 16th-seeded team nearly upset No. 1 Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

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