April 18, 2008
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - New Marist head men's basketball coach Chuck Martin has moved quickly to fill two positions on his coaching staff. On Friday, he announced the hiring of Paul Lee and Tyrone Weeks as assistant coaches.
"We're extremely fortunate to have two quality men, first and foremost, and two quality coaches who have a wealth of experience in collegiate athletics," Martin said. "Both are excellent communicators as well as great teachers of the game."
Lee is rated among the top assistant coaches in the country by Basketball Times. Prior to his arrival in Poughkeepsie, Lee spent eight seasons as an assistant coach for Northwestern in the Big Ten. He also has 10 years of experience as an assistant at Columbia University -- his alma mater -- including the last six as the Lions' top assistant and recruiting coordinator.
Lee played for the Lions from 1982-86 and was a captain of the 1985-86 squad. He received the Walter H. Bernson Memorial Trophy, given to the Columbia basketball player who exemplifies spirit, hustle and determination. He graduated from Columbia in 1986 with a degree in American history.
Prior to his coaching stint at Columbia, he served as a graduate assistant at Monmouth for two years. The Hawks compiled a 32-25 overall record and reached the finals of the Northeast Conference tournament in 1990.
Weeks comes to Marist after having served as Memphis' Coordinator of Basketball Operations this past year, helping the Tigers advance to the national championship game. In this role, the Philadelphia, Pa., native oversaw the operations side of the program, including coordinating recruits' on-campus visits, monitoring student-athletes' academic progress, updating the recruiting database and assisting with travel plans. Prior to that, Weeks had spent two years in private business.
Weeks also served as an assistant at Rhode Island from 2001-05 and St. Bonaventure from 1999-2001. During his time with the Rams, Weeks worked under head coach Jim Baron, and his primary responsibilities were working with the squad's big men, overseeing the strength and conditioning program and assisting with recruiting.
Before following him to Rhode Island, Weeks served under Baron at St. Bonaventure from 1999-2001. Weeks worked with the Bonnies' big men, assisted with game preparation, coordinated preseason and postseason workouts, supervised study hall and conducted on- and off-campus recruiting.
A standout high school player at Philadelphia's Franklin Learning Center, Weeks played at UMass from 1994-98. The 6-foot-7 power forward helped lead the Minutemen to a combined record of 104-32 (29-5 as a freshman, 35-2 as a sophomore, 19-14 as a junior and 21-11 as a senior) and four-straight NCAA Tournaments. UMass advanced to the Elite Eight in 1995 and the Final Four in 1996.
During that Final Four run, Weeks led the Minutemen with 16 points in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 win over Arkansas. In his final college game in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, Weeks grabbed 16 boards against Saint Louis, coming within one board of tying the school's postseason tournament record. Weeks averaged 12.6 points as a junior and 10.1 points as a senior, while pulling down 8.8 boards both years. He scored 1,013 career points, and his 858 career boards rank in the top 10 in UMass basketball history. Weeks, who served as team captain his junior and senior seasons, lettered all four years for the Minutemen. He earned his bachelor's degree in Education from UMass in 1997.
Following his college career, Weeks played professionally in the United States Basketball League (USBL) with the Camden (N.J.) Power and then in Argentina, before heading into the collegiate coaching ranks. He also coached at the Rasheed Wallace Foundation summer camp in Philadelphia for four years.
