Ben Tanoff arrives at Ellsworth Community College after serving as the Director of Basketball Operations at Presbyterian College, an NCAA Division I school in the Big South Conference, during the 2021-2022 season. During his lone season at Presbyterian, the Blue Hose recorded the second-most wins in the last decade. Tanoff’s day-to-day responsibilities included film & scouting breakdowns, player development plans, team travel, fundraising, academic coordination, and numerous other operational duties.
Prior to joining Presbyterian, Tanoff worked at Georgia Tech as the Director of Recruiting. Where he specialized in graphics & design. Tanoff helped the staff land three Top 150 recruits by designing all digital-related content used in securing a top 30 2021 recruiting class. While at Georgia Tech the team won the school’s first ACC Championship since 1993 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Two members of this team, Jose Alvarado (2021 ACC Defensive Player of the Year), and Moses Wright (2021 ACC Player of the Year), are both now playing professionally. Alvarado is a member of the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA and Wright plays for the Texas Legends of the NBA G-League.
Before making the jump to the NCAA Division I level, Tanoff spent 2019-20 as Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Maine Maritime Academy, an NCAA Division III school. At Maine Maritime, he led recruiting efforts, assisted in player development, served as social media coordinator, and academic advisor. The men’s program at Maine Maritime produced multiple North Atlantic Conference players of the week and was the only team in the league to earn the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Team Academic Excellence Award.
From 2017-2019, Tanoff was a men’s basketball Graduate Assistant Coach at the University of Pikeville in Kentucky, where he earned a Master’s in Business Administration. While at UPike, Tanoff was involved in all aspects of the program from scouting and coaching to gameday operations and social media production. The Bears made back-to-back NAIA national tournament appearances and were Mid-South Conference champions in 2017-2018. Additionally, as the head coach for the UPike men’s basketball JV team, Tanoff led the team to the 2018 Mid-South Conference JV championship. In 2019 Tanoff earned UPike Graduate Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Tanoff spent the three previous years (2014-2017) at the Lowcountry Preparatory School in Pawleys Island, S.C., where he served as head men’s basketball coach for the junior varsity and varsity teams. He also served as upper school math teacher and the math department chair. Tanoff led his team to the school’s first two South Carolina Independent Schools Association (SCISA) State Tournaments in school history. In his three years, Tanoff also had two players selected to play in the SCISA State All-Star Game, and his 2015-2016 JV team won the region.
Tanoff has worked 10+ years as a summer camp basketball instructor for coaches such as Shaka Smart, John Thompson III, Anthony Grant, and Archie Miller. He has also spent time coaching for the Hoop Group, the nation’s longest-running instructional basketball camp. Tanoff was also selected to coach the USA Basketball U18 3-on-3 team in the 21st Maccabi Games in Israel during the summer of 2022.
“I am excited to add Coach Ben Tanoff to our staff. Ben and I have known each other for a few years and have developed a really close relationship. He has a tireless work ethic and is one of the most organized and diligent coaches I have ever seen. He brings a great pedigree having coached at the NCAA DI, DIII and NAIA levels. He also gained valuable head coaching experience both at Pikeville and at the High School level. He has a very diverse skillset and will bring tremendous value to our program, to Ellsworth CC and to the Iowa Falls Community,” says Bryan Bender, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Ellsworth Community College.
In 2014, Tanoff graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics and Economics from Kenyon College, where he was a two-year captain of the Cross-Country Team. He is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and resides in Iowa Falls.
https://www.eccathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/releases/20220516i97z06
