Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Men's Basketball Assistant Coach
Marlon Williamson, a native of Detroit, begins his second season at the University of Pittsburgh as an assistant coach. Known as a top-notch recruiter with extensive ties throughout the Midwest and East Coast, Williamson’s main responsibilities at Pitt will include recruiting student-athletes, game preparation and on-floor coaching.
“Marlon has been a strong addition to our staff,” Dixon said. “As a former point guard he has strong knowledge of the game and an ability to connect with players. His well-rounded coaching background and family ties to Pittsburgh make for a terrific pairing.”
Pitt posted a 19-15 record in his first season with the program as injuries and a late season losing streak dropped the Panthers out of the NCAA Tournament. Pitt collected wins over No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 12 North Carolina and reached the 2015 NIT.
Williamson spent the previous two seasons (2012-14) at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst as an assistant basketball coach under Derek Kellogg. During Williamson’s two years at UMass, the program experienced its most success in two decades as it accumulated a combined 45-21 overall record and recorded back-to-back postseason appearances (2013 NIT and 2014 NCAA). Last year, the Minutemen earned their first NCAA Tournament bid in 16 seasons as they earned a No. 6 seed, finished 24-9 overall and 10-6 in Atlantic 10 Conference play.
Prior to his two-year stint at UMass, Williamson spent nine years working with The Family, an AAU program based in his hometown of Detroit, Mich., where he served as President of Youth Operations and Head Coach. Williamson’s duties with The Family included opponent scouting, practice scheduling, monitoring of the athlete’s academic progress and counseling the players on educational programs. Some of the top players to emerge from The Family included Joe Crawford (Kentucky), Jordan Crawford (Indiana/Xavier), Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis), Draymond Green (Michigan State), Malik Hairston (Oregon) and James Young (Kentucky). Six of his players were selected in the NBA Draft.
Along with his coaching duties with The Family, Williamson spent four years as Corporate Trainer with Associated Community Services, two years as Director of Purchasing and Sales with Charter Schools Administrative Services and two years as Transportation Manager with ABC Transportation.
Williamson was a four-year letterman at Youngstown State from 1999-2003, serving as team captain during his senior season. As the starting point guard as a senior in 2003, he averaged 8.1 points, 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game en route to being named to the Horizon League’s All-Defensive Team and YSU’s team most valuable player. Over his four-year career with the Penguins, Williamson scored 379 points, dished out 199 assists and converted 45 3-pointers in 99 career games. He also starred at Detroit’s Cass Tech High School.
Williamson, whose father is a Pittsburgh native and attended Peabody H.S., earned a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies from Youngstown State in 2012. Williamson and his wife Angela have a daughter, Marli (6).
