Marlon Williamson - Men's Basketball Coach - University of Massachusetts Athletics

Marlon Williamson

Title:
Men's Basketball Assistant Coach

Following nearly a decade of time in the Detroit AAU scene, Marlon [quote]Smoke[quote] Williamson made the jump to the Division I level when he was hired as an assistant coach on the Minutemen staff in August of 2012. In his two seasons with the Minutemen he has helped to establish a recruiting base in Michigan, while assisting with on-court coaching and scouting responsibilities. UMass went 24-9 in 2013-14 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. The team opened the year with a 16-1 record and won the Charleston Classic title, while returning to the national rankings for the first time since 1999 and climbing as high as No. 13/12 in the polls in mid January. In 2012-13, the Minutemen advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship and qualified for the postseason NIT before ending the season with a 21-12 record. Williamson had spent the previous nine years working with The Family, an AAU program in Detroit, Mich. where he served as President of Youth Operations and Head Coach. [quote]I am excited to have Marlon on our staff,[quote] Kellogg said at the time of his hiring. [quote]He has strong recruiting ties and a great knowledge of the game. His ability to relate to student-athletes and teach will be an asset to the program.[quote] Williamson[apos]s duties with The Family included opponent scouting, practice scheduling, monitoring of the athletes[apos] academic progress and counseling them on educational programs. Some of the top players to emerge from The Family include Joe Crawford (Kentucky), Jordan Crawford (Indiana & Xavier), Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis), Draymond Green (Michigan State) and Malik Hairston (Oregon). He was a four-year letterman at Youngstown State from 1999-2003, serving as team captain during his senior season. As a starting point guard, he averaged 8.1 points, 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game en route to being named to the Horizon League[apos]s All-Defensive Team and Youngstown[apos]s team MVP. Kellogg was an assistant coach for the Penguins during Williamson[apos]s freshman campaign in 1999-2000. [quote]He was a young man I watched go from a player to a man with a family,[quote] Kellogg added. [quote]He never backed down from a challenge and always gave 100 percent.[quote] Williamson received a bachelor[apos]s degree in Global Studies from Youngstown State in 2012. He and his wife Angela have a 5-year-old daughter, Marli. Along with his coaching duties, Williamson spent four years as Corporate Trainer with Associated Community Services, two years as Director of Purchasing and Sales with Charter Schools Administrative Services and two years as Transportation Manager with ABC Transportation.