Longwood head men’s basketball coach Ronnie Thomas announced the addition of Larry Blunt to his coaching staff.
 
Blunt, who brings a wealth of collegiate and international experience to Farmville, will be an associate head coach on staff. While on staff at the Division I level, his teams have averaged more than 20 wins per season.
 
He has coached multiple NBA players, including NBA lottery picks Jamal Murray and Thon Maker, and has helped each of his past three collegiate stops advance to the postseason. He has also coached at least one all-conference frontcourt player in each of his seasons at the Division I level.
 
“I have known Larry for 17 years, and he is hands-down one of the most relationship-driven people I have ever met,” said Thomas. “Throughout his career, he has coached at every level of basketball—from high-major, mid-major, D3 and prep programs—which gives him a unique perspective and a wealth of experience that will help us continue pursuing our mission of excellence.
 
“What separates Larry is his ability to connect with people. He genuinely invests in those around him and has a gift for building meaningful relationships that positively impact players, staff and the community. I have no doubt he will make a tremendous impact on the Farmville community and, most importantly, on the lives of the young men in our program.”
 
Most recently, Blunt served at Orangeville Prep following a successful run at Oklahoma State. Over his five years spread over two stops at Orangeville, he developed 40 Division I scholarship players and six NBA players.
 
“I am incredibly honored and grateful to God for the opportunity for my family to return home to the state of Virginia,” said Blunt. “Coach Thomas is a special leader who has been an integral part of building this program with vision, integrity, and a genuine heart for people. He is an elite basketball mind and a rising star in our profession, and I am excited to work, learn and grow alongside him. I look forward to pouring int our student-athletes as young men of character and purpose and to being a positive part of the campus and local community.”
 
At Oklahoma State, he helped lead the Cowboys to a 20-win campaign in just his second season there. In the 2021-22 season, he helped the team rank fourth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, and the Cowboys followed that up by ranking 12^th in 2022-23. He also helped OSU take down the top-ranked team in the country on the road, a program first, during his two seasons there.
 
He went to Oklahoma State following back-to-back-to-back 20-win campaigns at Drake that culminated with a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2021. During the tournament run, Drake topped Wichita State to advance to the round of 32 after tying the then-record for wins in a season with 26.
 
He helped lead Canisius to back-to-back postseason trips in his two seasons on staff, including a share of the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season title with a 15-3 conference record to go with a 21-12 overall record in the 2017-18 season. The league title was the program’s first since 1993-94, and the 21 wins matched the program record for wins in a season at the time.
 
He went to Canisius following three seasons at Orangeville Prep, where he coached 30 players who earned a Division I scholarship as well as six NBA players. That stretch included his work with Murray and Maker, the seventh and ninth picks respectively in the NBA Draft in 2016.
 
He began his collegiate coaching career at Eastern Mennonite for the 2005-06 season, and he also spent two seasons at Shaw University before four years at Hampden-Sydney College from 2008-12.
 
Following his time at HSC, he moved to Canada and served as the head coach for the Oshawa Power in the National Basketball League of Canada. In the 2012-13 season, he helped lead the Power to a franchise record for wins in a season.
 
Blunt was a collegiate athlete himself. He played football at Elizabeth City State for two seasons before transferring to James Madison, where he finished his career and helped the team win the NCAA I-AA National Championship in 2004.
 
He holds his bachelor’s degree in public administration from JMU, and he earned his master’s degree in sport administration at Canisius. He and his wife, Morgan, have two daughters, Layla and Lynlee.