University of Massachusets Athletics
Lappas Adds Two To Men's Hoops Staff
August 27, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Aug. 27, 2004
AMHERST, Mass. - UMass head coach Steve Lappas has announced the hiring of Craig Carter as Director of Basketball Operations and Jermaine Kimbrough as Staff Assistant for the men's basketball program. Both men come to UMass with a great deal of basketball experience, having played at major programs as well as working with some top level teams as well. "Craig Carter comes to UMass from UNC-Greensboro," said Lappas. "I received tremendous recommendations on his behalf from UNCG. He also has experience as a coach on the floor which will benefit our staff. He will be a great addition to our program. "Jermaine Kimbrough comes from a bigtime basketball background, playing at Virginia Tech," said the head coach. "He will bring that experience to this position. (Cleveland State) Head Coach Mike Garland had nothing but great things to say about him after last season. We are very excited about having him as part of our program. Carter spent the last year as the Director of Basketball Operations at UNC Greensboro where he was heavily involved in opponent scouting, assisted in all aspects of team travel, helped in setting the team schedule and workout regiments as well as aiding the coaching staff during practices and game sessions. Prior to UNCG, Carter was an assistant coach at Elizabeth City State in North Carolina for two seasons (2001-03). He served as an assistant coach at the famed Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., from 1999-2001. He doubled as an elementary school teacher which coaching at Lincoln. Prior to his coaching career, Carter worked in the corporate world an various roles, ranging from financial analyst to foreign exchange analyst to trading support specialist with some of the nation's top firms. He worked at General Electric, Global Consumer Finance and Chase Manhattan Bank. Carter was a standout player at Rutgers from 1987-1991. As a team captain, he helped the Scarlet Knights to two NCAA Tournament berths in 1989 and 1991 as well as an NIT bid in 1990. He was also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Tournament Team in 1989. He earned his bachelor of arts in English from Rutgers in 1992. Kimbrough spent last season as an Administrative Assistant at Cleveland State where he aided the coaching staff with recruiting, scouting, student-athlete academic services, team travel, tape exchange, camp and various other duties. Kimbrough served as an assistant coach at Howard College in Texas from 2001-03 where he helped the Hawks to a national ranking as high as No. 2 in the nation. Howard had a 23-game win streak during his tenure and finished ranked No. 15 in the nation in 2002, when they won their conference championship. Kimbrough helped promote the program performing various roles as an assistant coach, recruiter and academic liaison. As a player, Kimbrough was a star at Virginia Tech following a standout career at St. Catherine College in Kentucky. He served as team captain for the Hokies as well as being named to the All-Academic Team. He was named the ESPN Player of the Game twice in his senior year of 1999-2000, after sensational performances against Wake Forest and Xavier. In his junior college career, he played at St. Catherine College and Neosho College. In high school, he starred at Shaker Heights in Ohio, where he was an all-city, all-league and all-state honoree. He averaged 25.6 points per game in his four-year career.
