IUP head men’s basketball coach Joe Lombardi has announced the hiring of Brian Urso as an assistant coach. Urso joins the Crimson Hawks after spending the last two years at Chatham University in Pittsburgh.
“I would like to thank head coach Joe Lombardi for this wonderful opportunity to be a part of the ‘Hawk Family,'” said Urso. “Coach Lombardi is respected locally and nationally as a head coach and I am fortunate to be on his coaching staff. I would also like to thank athletic director Steve Roach and his departmental staff for the warm welcoming to campus and the town of Indiana.”
Urso helped establish the first men’s basketball team in Chatham’s history, as the once all-female institution launched six men’s programs in 2015. A Division III program in the President’s Athletic Conference (PAC), the Cougars featured 15 freshmen last year on a team that defeated Geneva in the opening round of the PAC Tournament.
“I feel that we are very fortunate to have Brian join our staff,” said Lombardi. “He has a wide range of experience that includes running a well-respected AAU organization that included 10 teams at various age levels. He also has worked at the college level an assistant coach and administrator.
“His abilities to connect with young men and develop them off the court as well as on the court will be a big addition to continuing to build on the culture of our program. Brian has a very good mind for the coaching aspects of the game as well as a tireless work ethic.”
Urso spent 2009-16 as the Director of the Pittsburgh Nets AAU Basketball organization. A program for boys grades four-thru-11 in the Pittsburgh area, the try-out only team competed at the AAU Nationals in Louisville, Ky., JamFests, Elevate Hoops Events, and local area tournaments.
Urso spent six years as a varsity assistant coach and junior varsity head coach at Shady Side Academy and at Pine Richland High School near Pittsburgh. He’s also worked various basketball summer camps, including the Duke University Summer Camp in 2015, the Hoop Group Bob Hurley Camp in 2014, and Hoop Group Elite and Academic Elite Camps.
Urso graduated from Point Park in 2009 with a bachelors degree in elementary education. He is originally from Pittsburgh and went to Fox Chapel High School. He currently lives in Baden, Pa. with his wife, Karlie, and daughter Regina.
http://www.iupathletics.com/news/2016/9/12/iup-mens-basketball-adds-assistant-coach-brian-urso.aspx
