Photo credit: spokesman.com
By: Ana Kieu
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Tim Marrion will return to San Jose State men’s basketball for his third stint as an assistant coach for the Spartans in 2019-20 as he joins Jean Prioleau’s staff for the upcoming season. Prioleau made the announcement on Monday.
“I’m really happy to have Tim come aboard to our staff,” Prioleau said. “There’s always a lot of turnover when it comes to assistants and we were lucky to get someone who is a California guy, which is great. This is a guy that has coached here before, so he understands how San Jose State works, and all the people I’ve talked to have said that he’s a hard worker, trustworthy and will put in the extra time to get the job done.”
Marrion, who brings over 10 years of experience as a coach, coordinator of operations, and director of player development, returns to the South Bay for the first time since the 2012-13 season when he served as an assistant coach on the Spartans’ staff for the second stint. He began his professional career with SJSU in 2006-07 as an administrative assistant before being promoted to an assistant coach for the 2007-08 season.
At the time of his promotion, it was believed that Marrion was the youngest full-time assistant coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball at 22 years old. That season, he helped the Spartans to an eight-win improvement from the previous season, the eighth-largest win improvement in the NCAA that season.
“I am very fortunate for the opportunity to come back to San Jose State, a place very near and dear to my heart,” Marrion said. “The opportunity to work with Coach Prioleau and the student-athletes here has me really excited, and I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running.”
Marrion joins the Spartans in 2019-20 from Washington State where he served as an assistant coach at his alma mater as a member of head coach Ernie Kent’s staff last season. Marion first joined the Cougars’ program in 2009 as the coordinator of basketball operations, a role he held until 2012 when he returned to SJSU for the first time.
During the 2012-13 season with SJSU, Marrion coached the point guards and wings, including senior guard James Kinney, who finished the season 12th in the nation in scoring at 20.6 points per game.
After one season with the Spartans, Marion returned to WSU in 2013-14 as the team’s director of player development and academic liaison. He resumed his role as the coordinator of basketball operations in 2016 and held the title until receiving the promotion to assistant coach prior to last season.
“Tim coached in the Pac-12 with me and I remember him from those days,” Prioleau said. “Washington State always played us really hard when I was at Colorado and you keep tabs on guys when you’re going through this business. I think he will be a good fit for San Jose State.”
In his coaching career, Marrion has had his hand in the development of nine current and former NBA players, including former Spartan great Adrian Oliver and three-time NBA Champion Klay Thompson.
In between stints with WSU, Marrion served as the associate head coach at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., for the 2014-15 season, helping guide the Penguins to the Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and a 25-6 record. The following season, he was the director of basketball operations for the University of Idaho where he helped the Vandals to an eight-game improvement from the previous season and a trip to the College Basketball Invitational.
A native of Nottingham, England, Marion spent six years living in Melbourne, Australia before moving to the United States. He graduated from St. Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif. in 2003. Marrion graduated with a bachelor’s in sport management from WSU n 2006 and went on to earn a master’s degree in sports leadership from Duquesne University in 2014.
Marrion and his wife, Sofia, have a daughter, Gia.
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