POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Head coach John Dunne of the Marist men's basketball program has announced a staff promotion and addition. Dalip Bhatia has been elevated to assistant coach, and Dorian Long will serve as director of operations.
 
Bhatia is in his seventh season overall working for Dunne. Previously, Bhatia was an assistant coach at Saint Peter's on Dunne's staff from 2008-13, and again for the 2017-18 season. He was on staff for the Peacocks' MAAC championship season in 2010-11, and helped the team rank second in the nation in field goal percentage defense in both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. He had originally joined Dunne's staff as director of operations.
 
"I'm really excited to be able to move Dalip into an assistant coach position," Dunne said. "He was with me for two separate stints at Saint Peter's, including our MAAC championship season. He's a hard worker, a grinder, and great with student-athletes."
 
Long comes to Marist from Lincoln University, where he served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator on the staff of former NBA player Doug Overton. At Lincoln, Long had impressive results implementing the program's defensive strategy, recruiting, and serving as academic liaison. He previously served as an assistant and associate head coach at Washington College, and was an assistant at his alma mater, Neumann College. For two seasons, Long served as director of operations at James Madison University. In his time there, the Dukes won 40 games, including a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title for the first time in 15 years.
 
"My goal was to find an experienced person to fill the operations position, one with coaching and operations experience," Dunne said. "Dorian has been an operations guy at the Division I level and an assistant coach at various levels. He's a hard worker with an unselfish mindset. I know he'll fit in well with our staff and players."
 
The Marist men's basketball team will open its first season under Dunne's leadership on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at Army West Point at 7 p.m. The Red Foxes' home opener will come on Saturday, Nov. 10 against Columbia at 7 p.m. For ticket information, please visit MaristTickets.com. For travel packages to see the Red Foxes play in Belfast, Northern Ireland as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic on Nov. 29-30, please click here.