Coastal Carolina head men’s basketball coach Cliff Ellis has named Patrick Blake the program’s newest assistant coach. Blake was most recently the head coach at Chipola College in Florida.
“We are very excited to have Patrick join our men’s basketball program,” said Ellis. “We welcome Patrick on board as we continue to move forward and build on our recent success.”
Blake served on the men’s basketball staff at Chipola for five years, the first two as an assistant and the final three seasons as head coach. In his time as head coach, he compiled an overall record of 62-30 and was named the 2013-14 Panhandle Conference and state coach of the year.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to come to Coastal Carolina to learn from and work with a great basketball coach like coach Ellis,” said Blake. “I look forward to getting on the floor with our student-athletes once fall workouts begin in October.”
During the 2013-14 season, which produced a 26-6 record, Coach Blake led the Indians to a Panhandle Conference Championship, NJCAA Region VIII/FCSAA Championship and an Elite Eight appearance at the NJCAA National Tournament. The Indians’ squad featured the top junior college player in the country, Cinmeon Bowers. All five starting sophomores from the 2013-14 team signed NCAA Division I scholarships: Bowers (Auburn), Sam Cassell, Jr. (UConn), Torian Graham (Houston), Carlos Morris (Minnesota), and Demetrious Floyd (Stephen F. Austin). Furthermore, Cassell, Jr. earned NJCAA All-American honors and was named the FCSAA Male Athlete of the Year.
For the 2012-13 season, the Indians posted a 26-5 record and a second-place finish in the Panhandle Conference. Blake’s first recruiting class produced three Panhandle All-Conference selections and was comprised of five of the nation’s top-40 players, including the No. 1 and No. 4 ranked players overall.
In addition to his work on the court, Blake led the Indians to an improved performance in the classroom and in the community. The Indians posted a team GPA of greater than 3.0 and saw the largest turnout for Chipola’s Basketball Camp.
Prior to being named as head coach, Blake served as an assistant coach at Chipola during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Indians won the Panhandle Conference in 2011.
Before Chipola, Blake served as a graduate assistant under head coach Andy Kennedy at the University of Mississippi.
Blake graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in business marketing. At Louisville, he was a student manager for head coach Rick Pitino for four years, serving as head manager for the last two.
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