Chinedu Nwachukwu (pronounced “chin-a-do” “wan-chu-koo”) has been hired as an assistant coach on the men’s basketball staff, YSU Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun announced. Nwachukwu replaces Brady Trenkle, who departed to pursue other opportunities closer to his family.
“I’m ecstatic about bring Chinedu on to our staff,” Calhoun said. “He comes from a tremendous coaching pedigree, having worked with some of the greatest college basketball coaches in the country. He has worked at all level of basketball and has won at every stop.”
Nwachukwu spent the last two seasons as the Director of Player Personnel at Michigan under new Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach John Beilein.
“Chinedu is going to be an excellent addition to the Youngstown State men’s basketball coaching staff,” Beilein said. “He is a very hard worker with an outstanding IQ for the game of basketball, and has had a significant impact on our success over these last two years.
“Our players loved him and he will relate very well with the current roster and in the recruiting world. Youngstown State has hired an outstanding basketball coach and I look forward to rooting for the Penguins in the 2019-20 season.”
Prior to his time in Ann Arbor, Mich., Nwachukwu spent the 2016-17 season as the Director of Operations at Milwaukee with current Butler head coach LaVall Jordan. With the Panthers, he coordinated team travel, budget, practices and other program functions.
He also spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State from 2012-16. After going 21-30 during his first two seasons at SVSU, Nwachukwu helped the Cardinals go 46-17 during his final two campaigns. In 2015-16, SVSU posted a school-record 25 victories (25-8) while claiming the program’s fourth GLIAC championship and the first since the school transitioned to the Division II level 25 years prior.
The Cardinals added their first Midwest Regional Championship and a trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, all coming in the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance. Additionally, SVSU notched a school-record 18 GLIAC wins en route to the team’s first title since the 1984-85 season.
In the 2014-15 season, SVSU posted a 21-9 overall record, including a then-school record 16-6 mark in the GLIAC. The Cardinals qualified for the 2015 GLIAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed, where they defeated Findlay for the team’s first victory in the tournament and berth in the semifinals since 1996-97.
Before joining the SVSU staff in 2012, he served as an assistant coach and head coach of the junior varsity team at the University of Findlay for two seasons. Before heading to Findlay, Nwachukwu spent three years as a student manager with the Michigan basketball program under Beilein.
A native of Ypsilanti, Mich., Nwachukwu graduated from Father Gabriel Richard High School in 2006. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Michigan in economics in 2010 and followed with his master’s degree in business administration from Findlay in 2012.
https://www.ysusports.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20190711-chinedu-nwachukwu
