Greensboro College Chief Operations Officer and acting Director of Athletics, Dr. Robin Daniel, announced the hiring of Jim Cantamessa as Greensboro College’s head men’s basketball coach on Tuesday.
“Jim is an unassuming and humble individual who’s behind the scenes contributions to men’s basketball and our athletics program did not go unnoticed,” Daniel said. “The Greensboro College campus community is fortunate to have him embrace a more prominent role in the coaching, teaching, and mentoring our student-athletes”
Cantamessa became a member of the Pride family in 2010 when he became an assistant coach with the men’s basketball team before being named the program’s associate head coach in 2015.
Throughout his nine-year tenure with the Pride, Cantamessa helped lead the Pride to back-to-back appearances in the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament championship game and five winning seasons, while also coaching and recruiting the conference’s Player of the Year in 2015 and the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2014.
“I would like to thank Dr. Czarda, Dr. Daniel, Randy Tuggle, Jena Miller, and the entire search committee for entrusting me to lead the men’s basketball program as its next head coach,” Cantamessa said. “We return an outstanding group of student-athletes and with a strong recruiting class coming in, I am really excited to see what we can accomplish together.”
“I would also like to extend a special thank you to Bryan Galuski for serving as an outstanding mentor for the past nine years while also being one of my closest friends.”
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Cantamessa played eight years of professional basketball in Europe where he was named a Euro All-Star in 2008 and was a member of a Belgian League National Championship team 2005.
Additionally, Cantamessa was a four-year member of the Siena College men’s basketball team under Paul Hewitt and led the national in three-point shooting during his sophomore season.
Cantamessa currently resides in Greensboro with his wife, Kara Bitar.
Cantamessa named Head Basketball Coach at Greensboro College
Photo Courtesy GC Athletics
