UNT men’s basketball head coach Daniyal Robinson hired Jay Shunnar as an assistant coach to his first Mean Green staff.

Shunnar comes to North Texas after spending the last three seasons on Robinson’s bench at Cleveland State. Robinson was hired as the Mean Green’s new head coach on April 4. In addition to his three years as an assistant coach at CSU, Shunnar has had stops at Butler University, Michigan, Ann Arbor Huron High School and in the NBA with Cleveland Cavaliers.

In his three seasons at Cleveland State, Shunnar was instrumental in helping guide the Vikings to three consecutive 20-win seasons including 23 last year, which was the program’s most single season wins in 14 years. CSU finished second in the Horizon League standings and were the runner ups in the 2025 College Basketball Invitational. 

In his three years with the Vikings, CSU had 13 Horizon All-League honorees and were consistently one of the top defensive teams in the league. 

Cleveland State in 2025 ranked in the top two in the Horizon in offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency. The Vikings won 13 straight games from Dec. 7, 2024 through Jan. 30, 2025, their longest win streak in over 28 years. 

Skip AdShunnar arrived to Cleveland State in 2022 from Butler where he served on staff for head coach LaVall Jordan for two seasons as the Bulldogs’ director of basketball operations. Butler had two AP top 10 wins during Shunnar’s time with the Bulldogs.

Prior to Butler, Shunnar spent a season in the NBA under legendary head coach John Beilein with the Cleveland Cavilers as a special assistant to the head coach. With the Cavs, Shunnar worked closely with then Cavs associate head coach, later head coach and now current Detroit Pistons’ head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. He was also responsible for analyzing film, preparing scouts for assistant coaches, assisting in practice planning and game planning. Shunnar worked closely with the development of guards Collin Sexton and two-time NBA All-Star Darius Garland.

Shunnar was also on Beilein’s staff at Michigan from 2018-19 where he was a graduate assistant. Beilein brought Shunnar with him to the NBA.

From 2012 until 2018 Shunnar was a high school and AAU coach. He was the head boys basketball coach at his alma mater Ann Arbor Huron High School from 2016-18 and its assistant coach for the one season prior. He also served as an assistant coach at Ann Arbor Skyline High School from 2012-15. In addition to his prep coaching, he was also the head coach of Common Bond, an AAU program for U15-U17 throughout southeast Michigan, for three years (2012-15). There he coached nine athletes to college scholarships.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native was a walk-on at Toledo and played for the Rockets under head coaches Gene Cross and later Tod Kowalcsyk from 2008-11. He played in 64 total games over three seasons and made 20 starts his junior year. He scored a career high 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting in his final collegiate home game on March 1, 2011 versus Central Michigan. 

Shunnar left Toledo prior to his senior year and transferred to Michigan to pursue a degree in Material Sciences from U-M’s College of Engineering. He holds an engineering degree and a master’s degree in higher education and post-secondary education from Michigan. 

https://meangreensports.com/news/2025/5/28/mens-basketball-hires-jay-shunnar-as-assistant-coach