We’ve blogged about both of these already – they’ve now been made official. Just wanted to pass along the release:
American University men’s basketball head coach Mike Brennan has completed his coaching staff hires. Former Maine assistant coach Nate Philippe will assume the same role at AU while former George Washington assistant coach Greg Collucci takes over duties as AU’s Director of Basketball Operations.
"Our coaching staff is set and I’m very pleased with the results," said Brennan. "Nate has been a winner in each position he has held and will be instrumental in bringing out the best in our student-athletes, while Greg’s ties to the DC area as well as his well-rounded experience make him another valuable asset."
Nate Philippe Bio
Philippe most recently spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Maine men’s basketball program. His primary responsibilities at Maine included working with post players, defense, recruiting, scouting, and serving as the program’s academic liaison.
Prior to UMaine, Philippe spent one season at the University of North Dakota, where he helped the team advance to the Great West Conference Tournament Championship and a post-season berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. While at UND, he was responsible for recruiting, scouting and academic monitoring while also working with the post players.
Before UND in 2009-10, Philippe was an assistant coach at York University in Toronto, Ontario and served as the associate head coach at the Regional Elite Development Academy in Hamilton, Ontario. He was also part of REDA’s founding first year, transitioning from the formerly Canada Basketball sponsored NEDA program.
In 2008-09, he was the head coach at West Hill Collegiate Institute, where he led the team to a 30-8 record, an appearance in the Toronto Championship Game and a run to the Elite Eight of the Ontario Provincial Tournament (OFSAA).
Philippe has deep roots in the AAU circuit, previously serving as head coach for Grassroots Canada Elite AAU after serving as an assistant coach at Centennial College in Toronto. While with Grassroots Canada, Philippe worked with Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavs, No. 4 Pick 2011), Cory Joseph (San Antonio Spurs, No. 29 Pick 2011) and Andrew Wiggins (ESPN No. 1 Ranked Player 2013).
Philippe played collegiately at the University of Prince Edward Island for a pair of seasons before moving onto St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he led the team to a pair of appearances in the AUS Championship game and the CIS National Tournament. Philippe graduated from St. Mary’s in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Business Studies.
A native of Toronto, Canada, Philippe currently resides in Vienna, VA with his wife Toni, and son Isaac.
Greg Collucci Bio
Collucci spent five seasons as an assistant coach under Karl Hobbs at George Washington University and 11 total years at GW, including four as a player, and two in basketball-related positions.
Collucci was promoted to assistant coach for the Colonials prior to the 2007 season and helped George Washington to their second Atlantic 10 tournament title in three years. This marked the Colonials third straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Collucci’s primary responsibilities included recruiting, strategic game preparations, and film breakdown. Collucci also assisted with on-campus visit planning, managing recruiting databases, film exchange and organizing player schedules.
The West Palm Beach, Fla., native previously served as a graduate assistant in 2005 and as Director of Basketball operations in 2006. GW earned NCAA berths in both of those seasons, and achieved it’s highest ranking in 50 years in 2006. In addition, GW captured back-to-back Atlantic 10 conference titles during Collucci’s first two seasons as a member of Karl Hobbs’ staff.
Collucci is a 2004 graduate of The George Washington University with a bachelor’s of business administration degree in marketing. He averaged 5.5 points (623 career points) including 160 career three-pointers as a player at GW.
Collucci, is married to the former Amy Chellino, resides in Alexandria, VA.
Stay with HoopDirt for the latest college basketball coaching news and rumors.
