Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Names Kevin Giltner Assistant Coach
Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Mike Young has named Kevin Giltner assistant coach. He replaces Antwon Jackson whose departure for a job at East Carolina left a spot open on the staff.
Giltner is a 2012 Wofford graduate who lettered for four years under Young's tutelage.
During his time as a player he helped lead the Terriers to back-to-back conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011. As a senior point guard he averaged 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and nearly a steal per game en route to All-Southern Conference Honors.
Couldn’t be happier, thankful for the opportunity, and ready to work! 🦃🏀 #StoneByStone https://t.co/JeS028tQxe
— Kevin Giltner (@CoachGiltner) July 6, 2020
After a brief stint playing professionally in Iceland, Giltner joined Young's staff as Director of Basketball Operations for the 2013-14 season. He was then promoted to assistant coach and spent five seasons primarily working with the backcourt during a run of tremendous success for the program.
Wofford won three Southern Conference championships leading to three NCAA berths. In 2019 the program broke through for its first ever victory in the Big Dance over Seton Hall.
If Giltner continues to focus on the guards, the Hokies have assembled a promising group to work with.
Jalen Cone, Tyreece Radford, and Hunter Cattoor will all be sophomores. Wabissa Bede and transfer Cartier Diarra meanwhile provide talent and a veteran presence. Another infusion of youth also arrives with highly-touted incoming freshmen Joe Bamisile and Darius Maddox.
The program is clearly still in the building process, but it would appear that Mike Young has cleared a significant hurdle by replacing one promising young assistant coach with yet another.
Tech fans can only hope the combination of Young and Giltner can yield the kind of results for the Hokies as they've managed in the past for Wofford.
