Following a three-year stint as a member of the William Peace University Men’s Basketball Team, Bryson Gibson will be back on the Pacers’ bench this season as a volunteer assistant for his former Head Coach, Claude Shields.
Gibson was a part of the Pacers’ inaugural season in 2012-13 and helped springboard the program in 2014-15, as they went on to finish second in the USA South after being picked to finish. This will be Gibson’s first taste of college coaching after serving as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill in 2015-16.
“It feels great going back home to Peace, a place that has provided me with so much support on and off the court and prepared me for life after my playing days there,” Gibson said. “This is a great opportunity for me and my coaching career, so I couldn’t be more grateful to Coach Shield. It’s also an opportunity to give back to the school as a whole, and most importantly, to give back to the basketball program that I was a part of from day one.”
Gibson averaged 6.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 50 career appearances as a Pacer from 2012-2015, including a career-high 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting as a junior against Methodist. Gibson was a USA South Academic All-Conference performer in the classroom all three years and named to the All-Sportsmanship team as a senior. He was also the team’s Pacer Award recipient his senior season.
“Having the opportunity to hire a former player is a special day for our program. Bryson was a tremendous leader during his time as an undergraduate, and I believe that he has an extremely bright future in this profession,” Shields said. “His passion for those around him, the WPU community and the game of basketball is contagious and it’s going to help our program move forward even more.”
Graduating Cum Laude with a B.S. in Political Science, Gibson was part of the first male class at William Peace to walk across the stage after the University went coeducational in 2012-13. Gibson currently works at the A.E. Finley in YMCA, where he serves as a Site Coordinator for adult and youth soccer and basketball leagues. He’s also spent time as the YMCA Head Sports Counselor and was a member of their annual “We Build People” campaign in 2015.
