Men’s basketball adds Courtney and Anderson to staff

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Men’s basketball will see a largely new coaching staff for the 2017-18 season, as head coach Dave Leitao announced he’s bringing Bill Courtney and Tim Anderson into the program.

Courtney and Anderson are the second and third additions to Leitao’s staff after former La Lumiere head coach Shane Heirman joined the team this spring.  The resignation of Rick Carter and the promotion of Billy Garrett sent Leitao searching for new coaches.

On June 7, former associate head coach to Leitao, Rick Carter, tweeted that he would be resigning from his position at DePaul to focus on his company, SpotterEDU.

“After a lot of thought, reflection, and consultation from family and friends, I’ve decided that it is in my best interest to resign from my position at DePaul and continue my quest to advance my company SpotterEDU,” Carter posted on his Twitter account.

Carter’s resignation opened a coaching position that Leitao handed to  Courtney, who served as head coach at Cornell University from 2010-2016 after 15 years as an assistant coach at universities across the U.S.

Courtney served as Leitao’s assistant coach at the University of Virginia for three years, including a 2007 ACC title run and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

“(Courtney) has been an integral part of many successful programs as an assistant coach and his experience leading a program as a head coach brings an added dimension to our DePaul staff,” Leitao said.

Courtney has an impressive record mentoring young players and turning them into stars.  He coached seven All Ivy- League players and two Ivy-League rookies of the year.

On Aug. 10, Leitao announced Anderson would be joining the program as an assistant coach and Billy Garrett would be taking an administrative role as director of basketball operations.

Garrett, the father of Blue Demon royalty, Billy Garrett Jr., joined the program back in 2009 after assistant coaching stints at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Iowa, Seton Hall and Siena.

“Coach Garrett’s shift into the operations role will allow him to gain administrative experience and also focus on our local and on-campus recruiting efforts,” Leitao said.

Anderson’s background rests heavily in the high school basketball arena, which makes him a valuable asset for a program looking to rebuild with fresh recruits.

“(Tim’s) day-to-day skill development along with his experience as a player and coach will benefit our current players and the players we are bringing into the program. His relationships in the grassroots and high school communities both locally and nationally bring an added benefit to an already strong staff,” Leitao said.

A Chicago native, Anderson attended Crane High School on the near west side before leading them to three straight Illinois High School Association (IHSA) tournament appearances as a coach, accruing a 63-24 record.

Anderson’s first experience coaching at the collegiate level came in 2011 with an assistant coaching position at UT-Pan American (now UT-Rio Grande Valley). He left the program in 2013.

Since then, Anderson worked for Nike EYBL MeanStreets AAU basketball program and founded Ground Zero Training, which develops young players in high school, college, and at the professional level.