Top Arizona State assistant men’s basketball coach Jermaine Kimbrough has departed Bobby Hurley’s staff and joined nearby Grand Canyon under head coach Bryce Drew. Kimbrough was associate head coach at ASU the past three years.
“I came here to grow,” Kimbrough told GCULopes.com’s Paul Coro. “I came here to be part of a winning culture and be part of a program where everybody is connected. You can see that character, connection, culture – all the things that matter.
“I’m here to learn. I’m here to be a part of it. We all come to the table with gifts, but whatever role Bryce wants me to play, I’m going to serve the program.”
GCU had the opening after losing assistants Ed Schilling and Jamall Walker.
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Schilling landed the head-coaching job at Pepperdine, while Walker is joining Jake Diebler’s new staff at Ohio State.
At Arizona State from 2021-24, Kimbrough was a key recruiter but also led the charge in building the Sun Devils’ defense. This past season, the Sun Devils used an aggressive press that helped point guard Frankie Collins set a single-season steals record (84).
ASU’s loss of Kimbrough only adds to the massive turnover that has hurt Hurley’s program in the past several seasons.
Collins and fellow starting guard Jamiya Neal are among the several players in the transfer portal, though the former has left the door on a return open. Bryant Selebangue, Zane Meeks, Braelon Green and Akil Watson are also in the portal.
Kimbrough knows Drew from their time in the Horizon League, where Kimbrough was an assistant at Cleveland State for nine years (2006-15). During that time, Drew worked under his father, Homer Drew, at Valparaiso (2005-11) before being elevated to head coach (2011-16).
“I see the vision, the support and the resources,” Kimbrough told Coro. “I see GCU as a program that can reach a Final Four in the future.”