Former McGill Redmen Assistant is New Coach of Men's Basketball Panthers
The University of Prince Edward Island has selected the new coach of the Men's Basketball Panthers. He is Matthew Davies, formerly the lead assistant coach of McGill University Redmen. Davies spent four years at McGill where he developed strong recruiting, player development, and tactical experience. He was also the head coach for the 16-under Boy's Provincial Team for the Quebec Basketball Federation over the last two summers.
Davies gained championship coaching experience within the Montreal Basketball League, winning a provincial championship with the Sun Youth Organization in 2001-2002. He was also an apprentice assistant coach with the CIS National Champion St. Francis Xavier University X-Men in 2000-2001.
His coaching expertise is complemented by a strong educational background. He holds an MA in Coaching and Sport Psychology from McGill and a Graduate Diploma in Sport Administration from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. He has a BSc and a BA in Psychology and English from St. Francis Xavier University.
"I am proud to join the Panthers community," says Davies. "The overwhelming support from the Athletics Department, UPEI alumni, and strong core of returning players makes this an ideal situation from which to take the necessary strides towards AUS and CIS prominence. I look forward to the challenge of instilling a basketball culture based on work ethic, communication, trust, and confidence, while pushing the boundaries of the Men's Basketball Program's academic, physical, technical, tactical, and mental excellence."
A native of Halifax, Davies is currently enrolled in the Diploma in High Performance Coaching program with the National Coaching Institute in Ontario, pursuing his NCCP Level IV certification under the mentorship of Coach Dave Smart (Carleton University/Canada Basketball.)
UPEI Athletic Director Ron Annear notes that Davies' previous experience in recruitment will be an important asset as he builds this year's team.
"He will be meeting with the returning players and the recruits who have been identified and adding to that list so that, come fall, we will have a quality team hit the floor," he said. "I'm very confident in Matthew's ability to quickly develop a strong recruiting framework to ensure a sustainable competitive program that Islanders and alumni can be proud of."
Davies takes over the Panther coaching position from Mike Connolly who was re-assigned in May to full-time duties as a UPEI student counsellor after six years in the coaching post.
