Former Temple basketball great Rick Brunson will be joining the Virginia coaching staff, sources have informed OwlsDaily.com. Brunson will fill the spot on Coach Dave Leitao’s staff that was vacated when assistant coach Rob Lanier jumped from Virginia to Florida.One year removed from a nine-year NBA playing career, Brunson will begin his long-planned college coaching career in the ACC. Earlier this summer he applied for the head coaching job at Division III Salem State College.
Brunson worked as a player development coach for the Denver Nuggets last season. Previously, he sought to replace his mentor – Coach John Chaney – at Temple, which instead selected Coach Fran Dunphy as Chaney’s successor. Brunson talked to Dunphy about the possibility of joining his staff, but nothing materialized.
The Virginia job opened following Lanier’s departure in May. He went to Florida after assistant coach Donnie Jones left Coach Billy Donovan’s staff to take the head job at Marshall.
Coincidentally, or maybe not, Brunson worked as a lead counselor at the NBA Players Association Camp for top high school prospects in Charlottesville, Va., in June. Former Owl Marc Jackson also worked at the camp.
Brunson’s name has not been publicly attached to the Virginia opening, which has garnered little media attention as football season approaches. It’s unclear when Brunson will officially be hired by Leitao.
OwlsDaily.com was not able to get in contact with Brunson. An official in Virginia's sports media relations office reported no knowledge of Leitao's search process as of Tuesday afternoon.