Young Harris College men’s basketball head coach Jeremy Currier announced the addition of Zach Altany and Reggie Anderson as assistant coaches.
“I am thankful to have Zach and Reggie join our Young Harris College family,” said Currier. “I wanted to get coaches that had experience at the Division II level, and had strong recruiting ties in Georgia and the Southeast region. When hiring my staff, I always want high character and hardworking individuals that are going to care for our student-athletes beyond the court. I am fortunate that Zack and Reggie have joined us in our quest of building an elite program at Young Harris.”
Altany comes to Young Harris after one season as an assistant coach at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida. The Titans went 22-11 in 2019-20, were co Mid-Florida Conference champions and advanced to the semifinal round of the Florida College System Activities Association State Tournament. Altany also coached one FCSAA Region VII all-state player, two first-team All Mid-Florida Conference players, four second-team All MFC members, and one FCSAA Region VIII All-Tournament team member. Altany coached and aided in the development of seven players who went on to sign athletics scholarships at four-year institutions including four – Osayi Osifo (University of Florida), Jonathan Ned and Mikal Starks (University of Georgia), and Calvin Poulina (Bethune-Cookman University) – at the NCAA Division I level, with three signing in the Southeastern Conference.
“I am very excited to have Zach join our coaching staff,” said Currier. “Zach comes from one of the most successful junior college programs in the country, and learned under one of the best in the business in coach Shulman at Eastern Florida State College. Zach has strong recruiting ties in our backyard with his time working at Georgia College, Oglethorpe University, Eastern Florida, and his time spent working with HoopSeen. “
Prior to Eastern Florida, Altany was an assistant coach at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, for two seasons. Altany coached two all conference players in both 2017-18 and 2018-19. Oglethorpe advanced to the semifinals of the Southern Athletic Association tournament both years. He coached a first team, second team, and honorable mention All-SAA players in both years there.
Altany was also a graduate assistant coach at fellow Peach Belt Conference school Georgia College from 2015-17. The Bobcats finished with an 18-11 record in 2015-16 and advanced to the PBC tournament. On that roster, Altany coached Peach Belt Player of the Year and All-American Honorable Mention Terrell Harris.
In addition to coaching, Altany worked the summers of 2018 and 2019 for HoopSeen, a large basketball company based out of Atlanta, Georgia, that is home to some of the nation’s best exposure tournaments and showcases and serves as a major tool for recruiting information and rankings across prep basketball.
Altany started his playing career at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina in 2011 before transferring to Division I Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, where he competed from 2013-15. He earned a spot on the Dean’s List in all six of his semesters at Georgia Southern and was named GSU’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2014-15. Georgia Southern went 22-9 in 2014-15 and advanced to the Sun Belt Conference championship game. While in Statesboro, Altany also served as an assistant coach at nearby Bulloch Academy.
A Huntington, West Virginia, native, Altany earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management and business from Georgia Southern in 2015. He completed his master’s degree in health and human performance at Georgia College in 2017.
Anderson served as an assistant boys basketball coach at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta, Georgia. Most recently, he was selected for the “Most Positive Coach” Award for all coaches and sports in Gwinnett County during his previous coaching stint at Duluth High School in Duluth, Georgia.
Anderson recently returned to the metro Atlanta area from Tampa, Florida, where he served as varsity head coach/business technology instructor at Steinbrenner High School. He was very instrumental in establishing an academic platform for his basketball players and also laid the groundwork of ethics and hard work of a successful program for future years to come. This was highlighted by receiving the Hillsborough County Team GPA Award for 2014-15 and 2015-16. His team of 15 players achieved an average team GPA of 3.450, ranking them No. 1 among 29 high schools in the county. Additionally, during his two year tenure, three players were signed to NCAA Division I and II scholarships.
“Reggie is a veteran coach that has spent the last 25 years developing players and building championship programs,” said Currier. “Similar to Zach Altany, Reggie comes from a highly successful program at Holy Innocents where he worked with some I respect a great deal in coach Cabral Huff. Reggie has a successful track record of player development, as he currently has three former players in the NBA, as well as, over 30 NCAA Division I and II student-athletes. Reggie is highly respected and has longstanding relationships with many of the top high school and AAU coaches in the state of Georgia.”
Prior to arriving in Tampa during the summer of 2013, Anderson completed two years as the top assistant coach with the Clark Atlanta University men’s basketball program (2010-2011). During his last season in 2011, he was a major contributing factor to the success of Clark Atlanta’s garnering of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference crown and advancing to the NCAA Division II tournament.
Prior to Clark Atlanta, Anderson served for three years as an assistant at Carver Bible College from 2007-10 where he was mainly in charge of recruiting and player development. During his tenure at Carver, he produced three all-region players, one NJCAA All-American honorable mention player and two NJCAA All-Academic players.
Anderson also had a successful stint at the high school ranks as an assistant for 10 years at Georgia’s perennial basketball powerhouse – Norcross High School. He was instrumental in pacing Norcross to the first of three consecutive Georgia High School Association Class 5A state championship titles (2006, 2007, and 2008) and a runner-up finish in 2005. During this time, he coached three current NBA players in addition to over 20 players who went on to play at the NCAA Division I and II schools.
His playing career extends to the United States Marine Corps. While serving for over 10 years in the military, he was the recipient of countless all-region awards and was selected to the All-Marine team in 1993 as one of the top 25 players in the Marine Corps. Anderson is also the author of a book on male mentorship “S.T.E.M. Knights 101….Train up a child in the way he should go.”
Story Courtesy: Michael MacEachern
YHC Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Communications
