Joey Cantafio has been promoted to full-time assistant coach, and Thomas Strine has been hired as director of operations announced Lamar University head men’s basketball coach Tic Price. Cantafio is entering his third season with the program.

“I’ve had the honor and privilege of watching Joey work for the past couple of years,” said Price. “When you’re the director of basketball operations you have a ton of responsibilities thrown your way. As I watched him I became more impressed with how he took care of his business. He is one of those individuals who always comes in early and stays late to get the job done. When it came time to replace Bobby Kummer – who came to Lamar when the program was down – I wanted someone who I knew, who was loyal to Lamar University and someone who knew me.

“When we’ve brought recruits in on visits during the past Joey has worked very hard to take care of the on-campus aspect of those visits. He thinks outside the box and has earned this opportunity,” added Price.

Cantafio spent the previous two seasons serving as the Cardinals’ director of operations following a three-year stint in a similar position from Tulane. During his time with the Green Wave, Cantafio handled all the video needs for the program including scouting and recruiting videos.

Prior to joining the collegiate ranks, Cantafio served as an assistant coach and junior varsity head coach at Bishop O’Connell in Arlington, Va. He helped guide Bishop O’Connell to the 2013 WCAC and Alhambra Championship. During his time in Arlington, Cantafio helped produce 12 future NCAA Division I players, including 2014 McDonald’s All-American, Melo Trimble.

Strine steps in to take over the operations position. He brings with him several years of experience serving a similar role at Cleveland State and American University. Strine comes to Beaumont after spending the previous season in Cleveland working with the Vikings’ program. Prior to that, he spent three seasons in Washington D.C. serving as the director of operations for American University.

“After promoting Joey, I wanted someone in the operations position that we didn’t have to train,” said Price. “Tommy is very experienced in the operations position. He worked with a friend of mine, Kim Lewis at the University of Richmond. After the interview process, Tommy simply stood out over everyone else.”

Strine’s coaching career began in 2010 at the club level before taking an assistant’s position at Marion (Ind.) High School. He spent one season at MHS before taking an assistant coaching position at Concordia University – Ann Arbor.

https://lamarcardinals.com/news/2019/6/29/mens-basketball-price-completes-coaching-staff.aspx