Dan Geriot was introduced Tuesday as the new Iona men’s basketball coach
Iona AthleticsAn enthusiastic Dan Geriot vowed to bring NBA strategies and scouts with him as he ushers in a new era with the Iona men’s basketball program.
Geriot, 36, was named the Iona coach March 20 after spending the last nine seasons as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Pelicans. He replaced Tobin Anderson, who was let go after posting a 33-34 record in two seasons, and reaching the MAAC championship game last month.
“Twenty days ago I was in the NBA,” Geriot, who includes Cleveland Cavaliers President Koby Altman and Detroit Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff as mentors, said at his introductory press conference at Iona’s LaPenta School of Business. “We were right there. We were working out the same guys and doing the same workouts that we’re going to be able to do here, and play a very similar style. We’re going to be spaced. We’re going to really evaluate the decision making.”
Geriot said he wants to recruit and coach “guys who can dribble and pass” and his team will feature “multiple ball-handlers.”
“That will be something you see a ton of as we continue on this journey,” he said.
Iona has a proud tradition in the MAAC with many NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently under Rick Pitino two years ago. Geriot said he’s heard from several former Iona coaches, including Jeff Ruland, Tim Welsh and Tim Cluess.
He also promised that more NBA scouts would be around the program due to his connections within the league.
“We’re going to have a lot of people in our gym, too,” he said, adding that a scout from the Washington Wizards had already been in. “We’re gonna have more scouts in here….walking around with me, seeing everything. Those are my friends. This is a real thing. These are real relationships that I’m bringing from the NBA to Iona.”
Citing the dominance of Name, Image and Likeness and the transfer portal in today’s college sports world, Iona has also hired a general manager for men’s basketball in Craig Moore.
“We don’t know what the [NIL]
rules are going to be in two years,” Geriot said. “We get to create and innovate every day in the MAAC…This is so critical and I think everyone’s going to feel this.”
Iona AD Matt Glovaski said he wanted to make an outside-the-box hire to deal with today’s changing college sports landscape.
“As a mid-major, you have to think differently, you have to think outside the box and try to build a model that can make it sustainable,” he said.
Asked if Iona would participate in revenue-sharing, Glovaski said, “We’re still kind of working through that right now. You’ve got to be kind of prepared for everything.’
They have their work cut out for them in terms of building a roster. Iona has 10 players in the transfer portal and two have exhausted their eligibility, leaving just three players on the team: Jojo Wallace, Jacob Hogarth and Christian Winborne. The others are working out on campus and could still come back.
“We’re evaluating them,” Geriot said. “We we will offer a few of them to come back.”
He said he wants players who “are willing to get better” and “get a workout in” during a visit to campus.
“We’re gonna recruit shooting and skill, and that’s what I was when I played,” Geriot said. “I think the idea is we want to get guys that are dribbling, passing decision-makers and guys that are going to share the ball with each other.”
Pat Wallace will remain on staff as an assistant and Geriot said they will be hitting the transfer portal hard. He also said he can empathize with all the players in the portal, including the Iona guys.
“I told our guys, go in the portal,” he said. “You deserve this opportunity. I have so much empathy for what they’re going through. Its a hard business. The more I’m feeling zooms and feeling guys in the portal, even our own guys, I’m like… I’m so sorry for you guys. I apologize for what society’s doing.”
Geriot is one of several former NBA assistants who have taken over college programs, including Kevin Young (BYU), Luke Loucks (Florida State) and Alex Jensen (Utah). Geriot is the only one who is not an alumnus of the school at which he was hired, and he said that was a plus because it proved Iona was forward-thinking.
With the college game resembling the pro game more and more with NIL and free agency, Geriot expects that trend to continue.
“I think you will be reporting on more NBA assistants becoming college head coaches in the near future,” Geriot said.
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