Director of Athletics Gregg Mucerino also announced the hiring of Emmanuel Bland as the new Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Dallas Christian College. Mucerino shared his thoughts on the hiring of Emmanuel Bland. “I am confident with the hiring of Coach Manny Bland our MBB program is in the best place it’s been in some time. He has an infectious love for Christ and heart for missions. His spiritual integrity is paramount. Coach Bland demonstrates a hungry, humble and smart mind set,” said Mucerino. “He brings a wide range of knowledge and experience from the Dallas Mavericks to NCAA D2 coupled with a tenacious recruiting background. We are blessed to have him as our next HC at DCC.”
Coach Bland comes to Dallas after working as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball program at Mars Hill University in North Carolina for the 2022-2023 season. While at MHU Coach Bland was responsible for individual player development workouts, recruiting, scouting, practice and game planning, and helping head coach Larry Davis with the offense.
Coach Bland arrived at Mars Hill after working with Dawson CC in Glendive, Montana – it was Coach Bland’s second stint at DCC. Coach Bland helped the Buccaneers win 71 games over his three years there (2017-2019, 2021-2022) and assisted Coach Joe Peterson in many aspects of the program including overseeing individual skill development, installing a new offense, academics, and strength & conditioning. In the 2021-2022 season, Coach Bland was instrumental in helping the Bucs to a 27-6 record and a 2022 NJCAA Region 13 Championship. The team was 2nd in the nation in made three-pointers and received votes in NJCAA Top 25, as well as being Top 10 in Assists and Steals. Bland coached 4 All-Conference and 3 All-Region players as well as 2 NJCAA All-Americans during his time at Dawson. In 3 years at Dawson CC he helped 20+ players receive scholarships at the 4 year level (NCAA D1, D2, NAIA).
In addition to his junior college coaching experience, Coach Bland also worked two seasons (2019-2021) with the Dallas Mavericks player development staff assisting on the court in workouts and practices as well as charting shot data for player development purposes.
Before he coached at the Junior College level, Bland was a coach and City Director for Five-Star Sports, a Nike affiliated program in China. Bland coached high school (Zhixin HS and British School of Guangzhou) and club (U14, U16) teams- organizing practices, scheduling games, and coaching in tournaments throughout China.
Coach Bland played collegiate basketball at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky and at Blue Mountain College in Blue Mountain, Mississippi and had a brief stint overseas in the Philippines. A native of Beckley, West Virginia, Coach Bland was instrumental in leading Greater Beckley Christian School to their first state tournament appearance. He received his B.S. in Psychology from Blue Mountain College.
Coach Bland has been married to his wife Christine for 10 years and they have 2 wonderful daughters, Emman (8) and Eleanor (6). Coach Bland has a passion for the game and wants to invest spiritually into the student-athletes at Dallas Christian.
Bland shared his enthusiasm about coming to Dallas Christian College. “I am excited for the opportunity to build a culture at Dallas Christian College that emphasizes spiritual and character development in the student athletes that I coach,” said Bland. “My experiences at the Junior College and Division II level have given me a foundation of what it takes to build a successful program.”
