Wofford College men’s basketball head coach Dwight Perry has made two additions to the coaching and support staff for the upcoming season. Former Terrier Drew Gibson returns to Wofford as an assistant coach after spending the past four seasons at Navy, while Nate Williams will be the director of player development.
Drew Gibson joined the Navy coaching staff during the summer of 2019 and completed his fourth year in Annapolis in the 2022-23 season.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to add Drew to our staff,” said head coach Dwight Perry. “Drew is a well-rounded basketball coach, who has been able to make an impact everywhere he has been. His combination of basketball IQ, ability to relate to players, and overall knowledge of the game will be an invaluable addition to our program. From the very beginning of this process, it was important to find a coach that took pride in Wofford College and was going to make sure our student-athletes had a fulfilled experience. We are excited to welcome Drew and his wife, Staley, back to the Wofford Family.”
This past season Navy was 18-13 overall and 11-7 in the Patriot League. They were the number two seed in the conference tournament for the second straight season. Daniel Deaver garnered first-team all-league honors, Sean Yoder was named second team all-league and placed on the all-defensive team and Tyler Nelson earned third-team all-league accolades.
In 2021-22, Navy’s year began with a victory at No. 25 Virginia and ended with the Mids playing in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament for the first time in 21 seasons. Navy compiled an overall record of 21-11 and a league mark of 12-6 on the season as a whole.
Navy registered a 15-3 overall record during the 2020-21 season. One of the team’s victories was the program’s first over Georgetown since the 1976-77 season. The Mids would go on to post a 12-1 record during the Patriot League season to garner the outright seed in the league tournament for the first time since the 1997 event.
The Mids were one of the youngest teams in the country during Gibson’s initial season on The Yard as one senior and 11 freshmen dotted the roster. Navy played a league-high 15 games during the Patriot League season that were decided by 10 or fewer points. The Mids ended the year tied for sixth place in the Patriot League with an 8-10 record that was part of a 14-16 record as a whole.
Gibson served as the lead assistant coach at Augusta University for the two prior seasons. The Jaguars won the Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament titles in his second year (2018-19), reached the Sweet 16 of the 2019 NCAA (DII) Tournament and ended the year ranked 16th nationally. The program compiled an overall record of 42-19 and a conference mark of 32-12 during Gibson’s two seasons in Augusta.
Gibson spent six years playing professionally in Portugal, Germany, Slovakia and Iceland following graduation. He returned to Wofford as the director of basketball operations prior to the start of the 2014-15 season. His first year back on campus saw the Terriers win the conference regular season (16-2) and tournament titles, reach the NCAA Tournament and post the most wins in a season (28-7) in school history.
The Los Angeles native recorded 1,027 points, 507 assists and 213 steals during his four years at Wofford. Gibson earned First-Team All-Southern Conference accolades during his 2007-08 senior season. He led the team in both assists and steals as a sophomore, junior and senior. He left as the school’s career leader during the program’s Division I era in both assists and steals. He graduated with a degree in finance in 2008.
Nate Williams joins the staff as director of player development after spending the last season as an assistant coach at Emmanuel College.
“Nate is a high-character person who will have a tremendous impact on our student-athletes and staff,” said Perry. “The experience he has from his successful basketball journey proves just how bright of a star he is in our profession. His relentless work ethic and passion for the game of basketball brings incredible value to our program.”
In 2022-23, the Lions were 23-8 overall and 17-3 in Conference Carolinas. They won the conference tournament held at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium to reach the NCAA Division II Tournament, where they lost in the first round.
He was a graduate assistant at Converse University in 2021-22 as the program played their inaugural season.
In 2019-2020, Williams served as assistant coach at NCAA Division III Pitt-Bradford. At the conclusion of the season, he was elevated to interim head coach. However, due to COVID, Pitt-Bradford did not play in 2020-21 and Williams spent the past year in private business.
Williams was part of two NCCAA National Championship teams as a student-athlete at Emmanuel College. In his senior campaign, the Lions won the Conference Carolina’s Championship, which earned a NCAA Tournament berth in their first season of Division II eligibility. He also won a pair of NCCAA National Championships (2016, 2018) with the Lions. He was named to the Conference Carolina’s Academic All-Conference Team twice.
Williams graduated from Emmanuel in 2019 with a degree in Business Administration. He is expected to graduate with his Master’s in Management and Leadership in May of 2023 from Converse University.
Wofford Basketball Staff Update
