John Lamanna will be the next head men’s basketball coach at Ave Maria University, announced this week by Athletic Director Kimberly King.
“I am incredibly grateful and humbled for the opportunity that President Jim Towey, Vice President Julie Cosden and Director of Athletics Kimberly King have entrusted me with leading the Ave Maria University Men’s Basketball Program,” said John Lamanna. “It is truly a blessing to coach at a university who embraces an authentic Catholic mission, and I am excited to hit the ground running, working with the current and incoming student-athletes this Fall.”
Lamanna brings with him 15 years of collegiate men’s basketball experience. He began his career as a student assistant at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., for four years before serving as the Director of Basketball Operation at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for two seasons.
In 2006, Lamanna began as the Assistant Coach at the University of California, Davis before being named Head Coach at Franciscan University in August 2011.
Lamanna has had success both on and off the court at Franciscan as he has implemented a culture of team first attitudes with a philosophical foundation rooted in virtue and the mission of Franciscan University.
Off the court, he developed an academic game plan for each student-athlete that is a road map for graduation and career exploration which helped the Barons earn the Team Peak Performance Award which is awarded by the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference for the highest cumulative grade point average in the sport of men’s basketball.
At Franciscan, Lamanna created and participated in the “Works of Mercy” program, which saw the men’s basketball team serve the community throughout the whole academic year through ringing bells for the Salvation Army, volunteering man power to clean and inventory a thrift store who gives free clothing and goods to the needy and offered free basketball clinics in the neighborhood community centers for impoverished kids.
Lamanna has also served as an Executive Director for the NCAA College All-Star Game since 2006. In this position, he has been responsible for selecting 24 of the top senior men’s basketball student-athletes to compete in the NCAA Division 1 College All-Star Game which is held at the site of the Final Four. For this event, Lamanna also coordinated all travel for participants, coordinated officials and television personnel, and organized community outreach at the Final Four host city site.
A Spokane, Wash., native, Lamanna graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Washington State University and a master’s degree in Counseling from Loyola Marymount University.
http://www.avemariagyrenes.com/news/2015/7/10/MBB_0710155351.aspx
