The IUPUI Athletics Department and head basketball coach Matt Crenshaw announced the additions of Antwain Banks and Tommy Strine as assistant coaches on his staff.
Banks, a South Bend-native, rejoins the program after having served as the Jaguars’ Director of Operations during the 2015-2016 season. Meanwhile, Strine also brings impressive Indiana roots, having starred at Lakewood Park Christian, later played at Anderson University and graduated from Purdue Fort Wayne.
“In keeping with my mission to recruit Indiana first, Antwain, in addition to being a native son, brings to IUPUI a long history of recruiting the state as well as the Midwest. Although he has a keen expertise for coaching both sides of the ball, I will lean on him to complement to my defensive focus,” Crenshaw said. “He has a great basketball mind and is excellent at mentoring young men and building great relationships with his players. His past head coaching expertise only adds to his long list of strengths that will benefit our program and help us rebuild.
“Tommy is coming back home to Indiana to help us in our recruiting mission to lock down the state. His past experiences and important ties to high school and AAU programs will allow him to hit the ground running on day one. On the court, he will lend his expertise in offensive strategy and serve as a co-offensive coordinator. He has followed the Jaguars for quite some time and that familiarity is one of the things that stood out when I was evaluating candidates. He will be a vital addition to my staff and I look forward to his important contributions to rebuilding the program.”
Banks recently finished his third season at Alabama A&M, working primarily with the program’s guards and wings. AAMU relied heavily on freshmen guards during Banks’ time on staff, helping lead the Bulldogs to their most regular season wins since 2015-16. Before that, Banks was an assistant coach at Clayton State (Ga.) University where he helped the Lakers to a 24-7 mark in 2017-18, which included a Peach Belt Conference Co-Championship and an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Clayton State’s 24 victories were the second-most in program history while the Lakers went 19-3 in league play. They finished the year fourth in the regional rankings and ultimately advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to his time at IUPUI, Banks spent time as head coach at Kentucky State where he amassed an overall record of 51-59. He joined KSU as an assistant coach prior to the 2009-10 season. In 2013-14 Kentucky State finished 15-14 overall and 10-7 in SIAC action. The Thorobreds entered the SIAC Championship Tournament as the No. 3 seed out of the SIAC West Division. It came on the heels of a 15-12 mark in 2012-13, giving the Thorobreds their first back-to-back winning seasons since the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons.
Before Kentucky State, Banks spent seven years as a member of the IU Southeast basketball program (two as a player and five as a coach). He helped IUS reach 166 victories (.712 winning percentage) and five appearances at the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship. He also helped lead the Grenadiers to the KIAC Tournament finals in six out of seven years. Banks coached four NAIA All-American Honorable Mention athletes and eight KIAC All-Conference players during his five years at IUS.
As a player, Banks guided IU Southeast to back-to-back conference titles for the first time in school history. A two-year starter and co-captain, Banks helped IUS tie a school record for wins (21) and went to the national tournament for the first time in six years.
“I am honored for the opportunity to come back to IUPUI and coach with Coach Crenshaw,” Banks said. “I am excited about his vision for the program and the principles that he stands for and I want to help him and the university succeed in any way that I can.
“Also, to be coming back to my home state of Indiana is a dream come true. There is something special about Indiana basketball and we plan to make a lot of special memories at IUPUI. I can’t wait to get started!”
Strine comes to IUPUI after spending last season on staff at Chicago State University. He previously served as the director of operations at Lamar, helping the Cardinals post 17 wins in 2019 including a return to the conference tournament for the fourth-straight year. While at Lamar, he was named to the Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team, a group which represents 30 of the most outstanding men’s college basketball coaches (from all collegiate levels) under the age of 30.
Prior to his lone season at Lamar, Strine served as the director of basketball operations at Cleveland State (2018) following three seasons working in the same capacity at American University (2015-18) where he helped the Eagles advance to the semifinals of the 2016 Patriot League Tournament. During his stint at AU he had the opportunity to help coach Patriot League Rookie of the Year Delante Jones (2016) and two Patriot All-Rookie Team members Mark Gasperini and Sa’eed Nelson (2017).
His 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 (2013) before taking an assistant coaching position at Concordia University – Ann Arbor (2014). In that same year, Strine also served as a tryout instructor for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA’s developmental league. Following his stint in Michigan, Strine served as video coordinator at the University of Richmond for one season (2014-15) for a 21-win Spiders squad which finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) as a No. 1 seed.
Strine earned his bachelor’s degree from IPFW in 2014. He received his degree after a playing career at NCAA Division III Anderson University where he helped the Ravens advance to the 2010 NCAA Championships. It marked the first time in program history that Anderson won the Heartland Conference Championship, setting school records for wins and conference wins.
“I’m extremely grateful to Coach Crenshaw for granting me this opportunity to join the Jaguar family,” Strine said. “Basketball and Indiana are synonymous with each other and it’s a dream come true to be able to come back and coach in my home state.”
Both Banks and Strine recently began their coaching duties.
Story Courtesy: Ed Holdaway (@EdHoldaway), IUPUI Sports Information
