Pelicans assistant Dan Geriot has officially been hired as the new men’s head coach at Iona University, the school announced in a press release.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported earlier this week (via Twitter) that Geriot was expected to replace Tobin Anderson, who was fired on Monday after two seasons with the Gaels.
“I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to get to work,” Geriot said. “Iona has a strong basketball tradition and history of success, and I look forward to being part of it. Our goal is to build a team that plays hard, competes at the highest level, and makes our fans proud. I can’t wait to get started.”
The 36-year-old played four seasons of college basketball at Richmond and one professional season in Belgium prior to transitioning to coaching. He was an assistant at Princeton and Campbell University before he got his first NBA job with Cleveland back in 2015.
Geriot steadily worked his way up the ranks over the course of nine years with the Cavaliers, eventually becoming an assistant under J.B. Bickerstaff. When Bickerstaff was fired last summer, Geriot was hired by New Orleans as a front-bench assistant under Willie Green.
Geriot is the third veteran NBA assistant to land an NCAA head coaching job this month, joining Alex Jensen (Utah) and Luke Loucks (Florida State). All three played college basketball — Jensen and Loucks were hired by their alma maters.