Neil Epstein has been named the head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University Potomac State College, according to Dean of Student Experience Lucas Taylor. Epstein arrives at Potomac State after most recently serving as assistant coach at Southern Vermont College (SVC).
“We are excited to welcome Neil Epstein to Potomac State College Athletics as the next men’s basketball head coach,” Taylor said. “Neil has an aptitude for teaching basketball, making players and teams better, and an excellent record as a mentor. We are confident in his ability to build upon the program’s success.”
“I am incredibly humbled to become the next head coach at Potomac State College,” Epstein stated. “I am thankful to President Orlikoff and to Lucas Taylor for the opportunity. Potomac State basketball has a strong tradition of success, we will honor that tradition while working to push the program to new heights.”
Epstein has set goals to measure the program’s future success, but wins and losses are not the only measuring stick. “A primary goal is for our student athletes to excel academically, to graduate and to improve as basketball players, allowing them the opportunity to move on to 4-year programs.”
While serving as assistant coach at NCAA Division III SVC for the 2018 – 2019 season Epstein’s duties included: player development, recruitment strategies and practice planning. Acting as the teams academic coordinator, Epstein was instrumental in raising the players GPAs from 2.5 to 3.4 in a single academic year.
Civic responsibility is also on Epstein’s radar screen. “Community service and outreach is integral to the success of our program. Athletics at Potomac State benefit from the communities’ support, it’s important the team recognizes that support and learns to give back responsibly,” Epstein said.
Coach Epstein, a Silver Spring, Md. native, graduated from Frostburg State University in 2017 with a degree in liberal studies, health and physical education concentration. While at Frostburg he served three seasons as student manager for Coach Webb Hatch and the FSU men’s basketball team, assisting with practice and game management, overseeing individual player workouts, and monitoring players’ academic progress. Epstein was promoted to student assistant coach his senior year, assuming the responsibilities of game film analysis, developing scouting reports, report presentations, and individual player development.
Most recently, Epstein served as head coach of the AAU 17U Cap City Scrapers of Albany, N.Y. While competing on the Adidas Circuit for the Spring 2019 campaign, he led the squad to a 23-10 record, winning the championship at the Washington, D.C. Adidas Gauntlet Tournament over Memorial Day weekend. Coach Epstein has assisted all 11 players from his AAU team in garnering interest and offers from NCAA schools, with three players being recruited by Division I institutions.
During the 2017 – 2018 season Coach Epstein held the position of head basketball coach for Believe Sports Academy’s B Team in Athens, Tenn.; he also assisted with the Academy’s National Post-Grad team. He assumed the helm of the team when their record was 0-9 and led them to a 14-4 turn-around, which resulted in several of the team members being recruited by NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NJCAA schools.
Along with handling the day-to-day basketball operations, Epstein also taught SAT prep courses, facilitated student recruitment, and supervised dormitory arrangements.
