Murray State head men’s basketball coach Ryan Miller announced the hiring of Al Grushkin, who joins the Racers for the 2025-26 season as Defensive Analyst.
Grushkin brings to the Racers, experience and wisdom gained in a career that is in its fourth decade of success at both the collegiate and professional levels.
“We are excited to welcome Al Grushkin and his wife, Debbie, to the Murray State Family,” said Coach Miller. “Al brings a wealth of basketball knowledge in all areas including defensive strategy and player development. He’s had a positive impact on every team he’s been associated with in his career and he’s going to be a big part of our success as we compete for championships in the Missouri Valley Conference.”
“I’m appreciative of the opportunity to join Coach Miller’s staff at Murray State, a well-known program that I have admired for a long time,” said Gruskin. “I want to do everything in my power to help the Racers win in The Valley. I am also looking forward to working with our student-athletes and help them maximize their abilities.”
Gruskin’s career includes roles as a head coach, most notably at Indiana Tech from 2010-14 and Incarnate Word from 2000-06. He also served in various roles at Georgia State, Tulsa, Arkansas, Western Illinois, Idaho State, UTSA and Arkansas State.
He has been part of five nationally ranked teams, worked under hall of fame Coach Nolan Richardson and recently was on staff for Kansas State’s Elite-8 season in 2022-23, and on High Point’s program-first NCAA Tournament team in the 2024-25 season.
In all, Grushkin has been a part of 12 programs that won a conference championship or went to postseason play within two seasons of his arrival.
In professional basketball, Grushkin was head coach of the St. Louis River Sharks and also worked with the Indiana Pacers as a regional scout and Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Erie Bay Hawks as Assistant to the Head Coach. He also worked as a regional NBA scout with Marty Blake Associates.
A graduate of Oglethorpe, Gruskin earned a master’s degree from Georgia State.
https://goracers.com/news/2025/10/31/mens-basketball-al-grushkin-joins-racer-basketball
