JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — East Tennessee State men’s basketball head coach Jason Shay has announced a new addition to his coaching staff: former LSU associate head coach Greg Heiar.
Heiar has been with LSU for the past three seasons and has previous assistant coaching experience at Wichita State, Southern Miss, Chipola Junior College, and Loras College. He spent five years as head coach at Chipola, leading the Indians to five-straight conference championships.
While at LSU, the Tigers captured the 2019 SEC Championship and made it to the Sweet 16 in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
“Greg is a ball coach. He has a proven track record in player development. He loves to be in the gym and help players maximize their potential,” Shay said in a news release Tuesday. “He is tremendous at fostering relationships with the players as well as building those connections on the recruiting trail. More importantly, he brings a winning pedigree to East Tennessee State University.”
“I’m extremely excited, thankful, and blessed for the opportunity to be at ETSU to work for and with Coach Shay and his staff,” said Heiar. “Coming to ETSU presents an opportunity to be at a place where basketball is very important and a chance to coach, mentor, and develop a group of student-athletes in a positive way while competing for championships. I’ve known Coach Shay for over 15 years and have always admired his basketball mind, his ability to teach the game, develop student-athletes, and connect with people. Jason is a winner. Everywhere he has been, his teams have won.”
Heiar — a native of Dubuque, Iowa — is married to his wife Jessica and has a daughter, Alexis.
He will officially start his new assistant coaching job at ETSU effective July 1.