Former Marshall standout John Brannen was named head coach at Northern Kentucky on Monday night, following a six-year stint on Anthony Grant’s staff at Alabama.
It’s the first head coaching job for Brannen, who briefly served as the Crimson Tide’s interim coach during two NIT games last month. He also worked under Grant at VCU, split six seasons at Eastern Kentucky and St. Bonaventure and began his coaching career during the 2000 season at the University of Charleston.
A native of Covington, Ky., Brannen played at Morehead State for two seasons before transferring to Marshall, where he averaged 14.4 points in 1996 before leading the Southern Conference with 20.9 points as a senior in 1997. He graduated that year with a degree in business management and became a Rhodes Scholar finalist.
Last week Brannen was a finalist for the head coaching position at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. When that job ultimately went to Cal assistant Jon Harris, Brannen landed a job in his home state.
“Our program promises to bring great pride to the NKU community, and we will strive for success on and off the court,” Brannen said. “Our goal is to compete for Atlantic Sun championships while ensuring our players graduate and represent NKU in a first-class manner. I can’t wait to start working and return home to embark on my head coaching career.”
Northern Kentucky was 13-17 last season, including a 67-42 loss to West Virginia on Dec. 7