Newly appointed Bucknell head men’s basketball coach John Griffin III has announced the completion of his coaching staff for the 2023-24 season. Branden McDonald, who joined the Bison program as an assistant coach last season, will remain on Griffin’s staff, and he will be joined by assistant coaches Matt Griffin and Jesse Flannery, along with director of basketball operations Mike Walley.
“I am thrilled to announce our staff; this is a group of talented, highly respected coaches that will represent Bucknell and the Lewisburg community with great integrity,” said John Griffin. “Please welcome Matt, Branden, Jesse, and Mike along with their families to Lewisburg.”
BRANDEN McDONALD came to Bucknell from Northern Illinois, where he spent the 2021-22 season following a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Towson. McDonald helped the Tigers to an 18-win season in 2017-18 and a 19-win season in 2019-20. The 2019-20 squad finished third in the Colonial Athletic Conference with a 12-6 record, and the squad placed a league-high five players on the All-CAA Team. The 2017-18 team jumped out to a 10-1 start, Towson’s best as a Division I program, and was ranked as high as fourth in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll while also receiving votes in the Associated Press poll.
Prior to his tenure at Towson, McDonald worked under head coach Steve Masiello for two seasons at Manhattan. McDonald broke into the collegiate coaching ranks as a graduate assistant coach at Pittsburgh from 2013-15. In his first season, the Panthers won 26 games, the last of which was an NCAA Tournament first-round contest against Colorado. Pitt won 19 games and played in the NIT in 2014-15.
A native of Glen Arden, Md., McDonald played collegiately at Virginia Union and graduated in 2011 with a degree in psychology. After graduation, he worked as an assistant coach with the Team Takeover AAU program and then at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where he helped the team win the 2012-13 Maryland state championship.
“Branden brings a wealth of experience to our program with stops at Pittsburgh, Manhattan, Towson, and Northern Illinois,” said John Griffin. “He is well-respected and connected in the DMV grassroots community because of his reputation as a player, person, and coach. His electric energy, competitive spirit, and love for our players is a separating factor in our program. Branden is an exceptional coach whose broad basketball knowledge and innovative mind will provide great value to our staff and student-athletes.”
“I am extremely blessed and grateful to work with Coach Griffin,” said McDonald. “His passion and pride for Bucknell are truly infectious. The future is very bright for Bucknell and I cannot wait to get started.”
MATT GRIFFIN, who is also a former student-athlete at a school now in the Patriot League, comes to Bucknell after spending last season as an assistant coach under Pat Chambers at Florida Gulf Coast.
Griffin, who is John’s younger brother, entered the collegiate coaching ranks in 2021-22 as an assistant at UAlbany, following a very successful five-year stint as head coach at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. During that span his teams compiled a 96-29 record and made four consecutive appearances in the Philadelphia Catholic League championship, including wins in 2018 and 2019. Three of his teams were ranked in the MaxPreps national top-25, and 13 of his players went on to play college basketball.
Griffin was named the USA TODAY Coach of the Year in the state of Pennsylvania in 2018, and that season he also earned Coach of the Year honors from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Scholastic, and PIAA Class 6A.
In addition to his coaching duties, Griffin served as director of athletics during his last two years at Roman Catholic, and he spent five seasons as the president of the Philadelphia Catholic League Coaches Association. From 2019-21, he also served as a coach with the U16, U17, and U18 USA Basketball Junior National Teams.
Griffin’s collegiate playing career started at Rider, where he was elected team captain as a sophomore in 2008-09. He transferred to Boston University prior to his junior year and was a team captain in both of his seasons with the Terriers. He led the America East Conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.458) as a junior while helping the Terriers to a league title and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Griffin was twice awarded the team’s Reggie Stewart Award for dedication and commitment to Boston University basketball, and he also received the John Simpson Award for enthusiastic senior leadership among all Terriers athletics programs.
After graduating from Boston University in 2012, Griffin was a mathematics teacher in the Teach for America Corps in New Bedford, Mass. He earned his master’s degree from the Boston University School of Education and is a PhD candidate in educational policy and leadership at UAlbany.
“Matt provides a combination of incredible energy, relationship building, and player development skills to our program,” said John Griffin. “Additionally, he adds head coaching experience to our bench from his five years leading nationally ranked Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. His experiences as an assistant at UAlbany and most recently at Florida Gulf Coast will provide unique perspectives to help us efficiently and aggressively build a championship-level program in Lewisburg.”
“It is truly a blessing to be part of the men’s basketball staff at Bucknell,” said Matt Griffin. “Having been immersed in the Bison culture, watching my brother John, along with his former teammates and coaches, compete on the biggest stages of college basketball, I take great pride in helping to continue the storied tradition of this program. I could not be more excited to work together with this outstanding staff to create more unforgettable moments on and off the floor for these amazing young men.”
JESSE FLANNERY is another familiar name to Bison basketball fans. The son of Bucknell Athletics Hall-of-Fame coach Pat Flannery enjoyed a stellar playing career at Johns Hopkins and is now making his own mark in the collegiate coaching ranks.
After graduating from Johns Hopkins in 2018, Flannery spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth under Mike Rhoades and was part of a Rams squad that won the Atlantic 10 regular-season title and received a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Flannery spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Amherst before joining the staff at Army West Point in the Patriot League prior to last season. He was part of winning teams at both spots, and last season he helped the Black Knights to the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, where they won a quarterfinal home game in overtime against Boston University.
After an outstanding career locally at Lewisburg Area High School, Flannery went on to play in over 100 games and two NCAA Division III Tournaments at Johns Hopkins. He was part of an NCAA Sweet Sixteen team in 2015, and he captained the Blue Jays squad that won 24 games and captured the Centennial Conference title in 2017-18.
Flannery graduated from Johns Hopkins with a degree in economics and political science, and he earned his master’s in sport leadership from VCU in 2020.
“As the son of legendary Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery, Jesse Flannery understands the history, tradition, and passion of Bucknell Basketball and the Lewisburg community,” said John Griffin. “Jesse’s resume includes assistant coaching positions at both Amherst and Army West Point, where he quickly established a reputation as a tireless worker with relentless energy. He is a bright young star in the coaching profession with Patriot League experience. His unwavering commitment to bringing out the best in players on and off the court will be special, and I am grateful to have him on staff.
“I am truly honored to be a part of Coach Griffin’s staff,” said Flannery. “He has been a mentor for me in this profession, and I’m excited for the opportunity to help him build his program. I look forward to working with him and the rest of our coaching staff to bring Bucknell back to national prominence.”
MIKE WALLEY was a two-sport standout in both basketball and baseball at The College of New Jersey, and he comes to Bucknell after spending the last two seasons as a graduate assistant at Saint Joseph’s while working toward an MBA degree.
At Saint Joe’s, Walley assisted with practice and player development, he was involved with gameday preparations and scouting reports, and he managed logistics in the areas of travel itinerary, food operations, and daily practice planning.
During the 2020-21 academic year, Walley was an assistant basketball and baseball coach at Notre Dame High School in New Jersey and also worked as a volunteer manager with the Princeton men’s basketball team.
A 2020 graduate of TCNJ with a degree in economics, Walley was a key contributor on the Lions’ New Jersey Athletic Conference championship team during his senior year. The squad finished 20-9 and won a first-round NCAA Tournament game. Walley also played baseball at TCNJ and was a starting pitcher on NJAC championship teams in 2017 and 2019.
“I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Mike Walley at Saint Joe’s for the last two years,” said John Griffin. “I appreciate Mike’s impressive athletic background as a successful, dual sport athlete at TCNJ, balancing baseball, basketball, and his academics all at the same time. Having witnessed firsthand Mike’s enthusiasm for the game, his solution-oriented approach, and get-it-done mentality, Mike will be critical to Bucknell Basketball’s success. Under SJU’s head coach Billy Lange’s leadership, he has had his hands in every aspect of building a top-tier college basketball program. His knowledge and dedication will provide the best experience for our student-athletes.”
“I want to thank Coach Griffin for the opportunity to be the director of basketball operations at his beloved alma mater,” said Walley. “I would also like to thank Saint Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange for the guidance and development that prepared me for this position. I am honored to join a dedicated and energetic coaching staff that is ready to lead the Bison. This is an exciting time for Bucknell Basketball and I am eager to get started with our group.”
