The NCAA increased the number of assistant coaches a Division I basketball program could have by two in January. Prior to last season, Henderson coached five seasons seasons (2017-22) on Bruce Weber’s staff at Kansas State, working two seasons as the program’s director of student-athlete development and three seasons as an assistant coach. Weber resigned after the 2021-22 seaason.
“I would like to thank Coach Grant and (Athletic Director) Mr. (Neil) Sullivan for this wonderful opportunity to become a part of the Dayton men’s basketball staff and community,” Henderson said in a press release. “I have so much respect and admiration for the tradition and the current culture of the Flyer program. I am excited to join the staff and team in the pursuit of A-10 titles and returning to the NCAA tournament.
Henderson joins a staff that includes associate head coach Ricardo Greer and assistant coach Darren Hertz, who have been on Grant’s staff throughout his six-year tenure, and assistant coach James Kane, who was on the staff for Grant’s first season and the last two seasons.
The staff also includes: Andy Farrell, the special assistant coach the head coach and recruiting coordinator; Sean Damaska, the director of basketball operations; John Brannen, a program analyst and senior special assistant; and graduate assistants Leron Black and Tyler Carter.
Henderson is a graduate of Columbus East High School. A 6-foot-4 guard, he scored 458 points in his Miami career. He played one minute as a sophomore in Miami’s upset of Arizona in the first round of the NCAA tournament at UD Arena and scored two points in two minutes in an overtime loss to Virginia in the next round. He averaged a career-best 8.7 points per game as a senior in 1997 when Miami returned to the NCAA tournament.
Henderson played for Herb Sendek and Charlie Coles at Miami and then started his coaching career on the staff of Coles. He spent 15 years, the last seven as the associate head coach, working for Coles until Coles retired after the 2011-12 season.
After Miami, Henderson spent three seasons as an assistant coach on Paul Lusk’s staff at Missouri State and then two seasons (2015-17) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator on Gary Waters’ staff at Cleveland State.
Henderson is the second former Miami player hired by Grant. Devin Davis, who was a teammate of Henderson’s for four seasons, was the director of player development in the 2017-18 season, Grant’s first season.
“Jermaine brings a wealth of experience to our staff from the variety of roles he’s served in throughout his coaching career,” Grant said in a press release. “His reputation as a highly-effective relationship builder, communicator, and servant leader will blend extremely well into the culture and identity of our program. We’re excited to welcome Jermaine, his wife Colleen, and their daughter Jaye, to the Dayton campus and community.”
Dayton posted the assistant coaching job in early April. The job description read:
“The assistant men’s basketball coach reports directly to the head coach and will participate in nearly all aspects of the men’s basketball program and its players. The assistant coach will primarily instruct, train and coach student-athletes about the collegiate game and skills required to be a Division I athlete, and also instruct student-athletes for purposes of academic, social development, compliance requirements, and safety and health considerations. The assistant coach will assist the head coach in recruiting quality student-athletes; in program leadership, including on matters such as team composition, competition strategies and peak performance. The assistant coach will assist in the program’s operations, including travel arrangements and video needs. The assistant coach will perform additional duties related to coaching (e.g. budget management, equipment procurement, donor relations, etc.) as assigned by head coach.”
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