Chicago State head basketball coach Scott Spinelli has announced the addition of assistant coaches Dalonte Hill, Kevin McClain, and Ramim Bhuiya.
DALONTE HILL
A former staffer at Maryland who earned a reputation as one of college basketball’s top recruiters, Dalonte Hill reunites with Cougars head coach Scott Spinelli on Chicago State’s coaching staff. The two were both assistants in the Terrapins program from 2011-13. Hill was most recently an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin and brings nearly two decades of coaching experience to the Cougars.
Hill earned a reputation as a top recruiter during his time at Kansas State and Maryland, helping the Terrapins rebuild with back-to-back top-25 signing classes (2012-13). He joined the collegiate coaching ranks in 2003 at his alma mater Charlotte after two seasons as head coach for highly-regarded AAU program DC Assault. Under Bobby Lutz, Hill helped guide Charlotte to a 61-30 mark and three consecutive postseason appearances, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips (2004-05). Hill coached two All-Americans and a Conference USA Player of the Year during his time in Charlotte.
Hill served on staff at Kansas State from 2006-11 for Bob Huggins and Frank Martin, aiding Martin as he built the Wildcats from a lightly-regarded squad to a Big 12 power. After Huggins left following Hill’s first season, Martin promoted him to associate head coach. During Hill’s time in Manhattan, Kansas State won 20 games in four of five seasons. Hill helped land a pair of national top-10 recruits in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker in 2006, earning the nation’s top-rated signing class by Scout.com and Rivals.com. During his time at Kansas State, Hill brought four McDonald’s All-Americans in the K-State program.
“Coach Hill is an elite level coach on all fronts. His ability to recruit, develop, and coach are of the highest level,” head men’s basketball coach Scott Spinelli said. “His experience of winning versus nationally ranked team, big time games, and winning in the NCAA Tournament adds another dimension to our incredible coaching staff.”
As a player, Hill helped Charlotte to three postseason appearances—the 49ers advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 during Hill’s freshman season. He played his senior season at Bowie State before returning to Charlotte to complete his bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2001.
McClain joins the Cougars following nearly four years as a regional scout for the Detroit Pistons where he evaluated players from the Big East, Atlantic 10, CAA, Patriot League, MAAC and SIAC. His efforts helped the Pistons draft the No. 1 class in the 2022 draft according to ESPN Hoops Hype and NBA Draft Net.
McClain’s coaching journey began at Casper College in Wyoming, where he contributed to the team’s NJCAA Region IX title in 1996. He then went on to serve as an assistant coach at Manhattan College in New York from 2003 to 2006, where he played a pivotal role in securing notable victories against prominent teams like Florida and Maryland in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
From 2006 to 2015, McClain served as an assistant coach at Morgan State University, where his guidance helped the Bears experience unprecedented success, clinching multiple MEAC regular season titles and conference tournament championships. Notably, the team earned NCAA Tournament berths in 2009 and 2010.
“Kevin McClain brings a wealth of experience having worked at every level of basketball,” head coach Scott Spinelli said. “He is the total package, a great person, an excellent recruiter and a phenomenal basketball coach. We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Cougars family.”
During a three-year stretch from 2007-10, Morgan State, under head coach Todd Bozeman, won the MEAC regular season title each year, were conference tournament champs and NCAA Tournament participants in 2009 and 2010. MSU was 72-33 overall (.686), 42-6 during the MEAC regular season (.875) and 31-3 at home (.912) during the span. McClain is credited with recruiting players to Morgan State who earned three MEAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year awards, two league Player-of-the-Year honors and two conference Rookies-of-the-Year selections.
Prior to his years at Morgan State, McClain was an assistant coach at Manhattan College in New York (2003-06) and Casper College in Wyoming (1995-03).
While at Manhattan, he helped lead the Jaspers to wins against Florida in the 2004 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and at Maryland in 2006.
Since 2016, McClain has coached Team Melo, an elite 17-and-under AAU team sponsored by NBA star and Baltimore, Maryland, native Carmelo Anthony. He has led the team to AAU championships each year.
McClain is a 2003 graduate of the University of America (Alabama), where he earned a bachelor’s in Sports Management.
Bhuiya joins the Cougars staff with over 14 years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently as an assistant coach at Division III Framingham State University in Framingham, Massachusetts where he served as the recruiting coordinator and oversaw defensive game planning for the Rams. FSU increased their win total each of his seasons on staff and reached the conference quarterfinals two of the past three seasons.
Prior to Framingham State, Bhuiya served as the top assistant or associate head coach at Daniel Webster College, MassBay Community College and Lesley University. While serving as the lead scout and defensive coach, he aided in teams that ranked in the top 99% across the NCAA in Defensive Team Efficiency over two seasons according Synergy Spots Analysis. As a recruiter, Bhuiya has been an integral part of recruiting 10 all-conference honorees and six 1000-point scorers. He had two stints as a head varsity coach at the prep school level.
Bhuiya has been recognized for his on-court player skill development where he has individually worked with 2019-20 NCAA Scoring leader Eric Demers (32.4 ppg) who was named the 2015 Massachusetts Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year. Demers was drafted by the Maine Celtics of the G-League. Bhuiya has helped develop athletes that have gone on to play in the NBA, NBA G-League, Liga ACB (Spain), LNPB (Mexico), ISBL (Israel) and NBL (England), as well as many other international leagues. He has been invited to camps and colleges across to the northeast as a lecturer for player development and team defense and has also been a primary coach and trainer for AAU program Basketball 2 The Limit that has produced over 250 collegiate basketball players.
“Coach Bhuiya is one of the best individual skill development coaches in the country,” head men’s basketball coach Scott Spinelli said. “His ability to teach the game and enhance each player’s skill is second to none. He also possesses a keen eye for talent and is a great tactician.”
A 2010 graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Bhuiya has also served as an intern for the University of Connecticut Huskies athletic program.
