The University of Pennsylvania’s John R. Rockwell Head Coach of Men’s Basketball, Steve Donahue, has announced a promotion and an addition to his coaching staff. The changes are a result of assistant coach Ira Bowman’s recent departure to take a similar position at Auburn University.
Joe Mihalich. Jr., who spent the last three years in the program’s volunteer assistant coach position, has been promoted into Bowman’s spot on the bench. Trey Montgomery will join the staff and fill Mihalich’s previous role as the program’s volunteer assistant coach.
“Joe has proven over the last three years that he absolutely deserves this promotion,” said Donahue, who enters his fourth year overseeing the Quakers program. “He was an integral part of us building a championship program, and I am so happy that he is getting rewarded accordingly. He will continue to be an incredible source of enthusiasm on and off the court for our staff, while also being a tremendous asset on the recruiting trail and with our team’s X’s and O’s.
“I also am thrilled to have Trey join our staff. He is such a tremendous fit with our program’s culture. He is a family man who was a high-level player in college and after college and will prove to be a great role model for our student-athletes. I think Trey will do an amazing job mentoring our student-athletes on and off the court, based on his life experiences and becoming a self-made professional basketball player.”
Montgomery spent last year as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Eastern University in nearby St. Davids, Pa. Prior to that, he spent four years as an assistant coach at Destrehan (La.) High School and coached the U-14 AAU Louisiana Legends team.
Montgomery played college basketball at Division I Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., where he was a four-year letter winner and two-year captain under head coach Jimmy Tillette. One of the best floor generals in Bulldogs history, Montgomery finished his career with 1,030 career points (19th in program history) and more than 350 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals. He made 112 appearances including 88 consecutive starts to end his career.
Montgomery was a two-time recipient of the program’s Kevy McInnis Award, given annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership both on and off the court, possesses the desire to achieve, and devotes his time to both church and community service. He also was a two-time recipient of Samford basketball’s Practice Hard Award and received the program’s Rebound and Assist Awards during his career.
Off the court, Montgomery was one of two campus-wide recipients of Samford University’s John C. Pittman Spirit Accolade in 2009-10. The annual award recognizes a graduating senior who has exhibited serious commitment to being a student, honoring Christ, maintaining personal health, and involvement in student life.
Following graduation, Montgomery played professionally for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the NBA D-League. He also spent two seasons overseas in Germany for the VfB1900 Giessen Pointers and played two seasons in the ABA as a member of the Jackson Showboats.
https://pennathletics.com/news/2018/9/2/mens-basketball-announces-changes-to-coaching-staff.aspx
