Johnson & Wales Men’s Basketball Coach David Graham announced on Wednesday the hiring of Josh Mendoza as a full-time assistant and development team head coach.
“We are excited to have Josh come back to the Wildcat family,” Coach Graham said. “I loved coaching him over his four-year career at JWU. He was a leader and a winner every day. Josh will bring passion, work ethic, love for player/person development and high basketball IQ to our program. I look forward to seeing him take the reins of the development team, grow the program, and be my top assistant as well. Adding Josh Mendoza made JWU men’s basketball, JWU athletics, and the campus better.”
“Being named developmental team coach is an immense honor for me,” Mendoza said. “Not only am I looking forward to watching the growth in our athletes, but as a former player at JWU, it is a privilege to give back some of what I’ve learned since graduating from the University. It’s a blessing to be able to teach the game I love at a high level and contribute to the future success of our program. As a former collegiate and pro basketball player, I promise to bring maximum effort daily to ensure the growth of our players and our program as a whole.”
Mendoza, a member of the men’s basketball team for four seasons (2013-14 through 2016-17), returns to JWU after serving as the head coach of the South Florida Rebels (U16 travel basketball) and assistant coach of Next Step Elite (U12 travel basketball) in 2020. Mendoza also started HoopsbyJM which provides personal training/content for all skill levels.
As a professional player, Mendoza spent three years playing in Peru (Osos De La Salle – 2017-20). He earned all-tournament team honors in 2019 en route to the 2019 Copa Crisol National Championships. In 2018, he led the team to the LNB National Championship, earning Finals MVP recognition.
At JWU, Mendoza (then named Medina) helped the Wildcats earn four-straight berths into the Sun Conference Tournament, including back-to-back semifinal appearances (2014-15 and 2015-16). He appeared in 86 games, recording 106 assists, including a career-best 56 during his senior season. During his four years with the Wildcats, JWU beat 12 ranked opponents.
https://northmiami.jwuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200415fvw1hf
