Northeastern men’s basketball head coach Bill Coen announced Tuesday that Matt Janning ’10 has joined the staff as an assistant coach. Janning recently completed a 13-year professional career and is one of the top players in Northeastern history.
“We’re thrilled to have Matt join the coaching staff here at Northeastern,” Coen said. “Matt is one of the best players in the history of our program and had an incredibly successful professional career over the last 13 years. He played in the NBA as well as the highest levels of professional basketball around the globe. We are confident that his playing experience, knowledge of the game, and leadership qualities will greatly benefit our student-athletes and our program. We’re extremely excited to welcome Matt and his family back home to Northeastern University.”
A prolific scorer and playmaker, Janning enjoyed an outstanding four years on Huntington Avenue, finishing his collegiate career ranked fourth all-time with 1,836 points behind only Reggie Lewis, JJ Barea and Pete Harris. He led the Huskies in scoring during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, and is still fifth on Northeastern’s career record list for made three-point field goals (223), sixth in made field goals (639) and eighth in assists (352).
“I’m ecstatic to bring my family back to Boston and Northeastern University,” Janning said. “The opportunity to start a new career here for a second time with Coach Coen was something I couldn’t pass on. The opportunity to grow as a coach at such a prestigious university excites me more than anything.”
The Watertown, Minn. native averaged 14.3 points per game during his 128-game career and was a three-time All-CAA performer, including first team honors in 2009 and 2010. No slouch in the classroom, Janning was also a three-time CAA All-Academic second team selection and was the recipient of the 2010 Herbert Gallagher Award as Northeastern’s top senior scholar-athlete.
Janning would go on to play professionally in the NBA, NBA G League and overseas before retiring in 2024. He is set to be inducted into the Northeastern Athletics Hall of Fame this November.
Janning joins fellow assistants and Northeastern alumni Brian McDonald ’10 and Joel Smith ’12 on Coen’s staff, making the Huskies one of just a handful of schools in college basketball to have all three assistant coaches play for the head coach at the same school.
Northeastern alum Janning joins Huskies Basketball Staff
