Penn State Nittany Lion basketball coach Ed DeChellis has finalized his coaching staff by naming former Drake head coach Kurt Kanaskie as assistant coach.

Kanaskie comes to Penn State after spending seven years as the head coach at Drake University in Iowa. At Drake, Kanaskie inherited a program on NCAA probation with only three scholarship players returning. The team¡¯s overall record improved in each of his first six seasons as head coach. Under Kanaskie, Drake posted the most conference victories in a single season in nearly a decade and posted its highest Missouri Valley Conference finish in 16 years. He was the 2000-2001 MVC Coach of the Year Runner-Up.

Prior to his tenure at Drake, Kanaskie was head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Kanaskie inherited an Indiana program that had been through four straight losing seasons and, after a first year of building a solid foundation, posted seven straight winning records. In 1993, IUP made the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) semifinals for the first time in 16 years. The next season, IUP grabbed its first national ranking in school history (No. 5), earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time and advanced to the Elite Eight. A year later, IUP earned a No. 1 national ranking and advanced to the national semifinals. He was a two-time PSAC Coach of the Year at IUP, earned NABC District Coach of the Year honors twice and was the Basketball Times National Coach of the Year two times.

Kanaskie served as the head coach at nearby Lock Haven University for three years prior to heading to IUP. He inherited a Bald Eagle program that was 18-84 over the previous four seasons and in his first year set a school record for wins in a season with 15. His LHU team reached the NCAA Tournament just a year later and earned the school¡¯s first-ever national ranking. He was named PSAC Coach of the Year twice at LHU, giving him a total of four PSAC coaching awards.

¡°I¡¯m excited to have a person of Kurt¡¯s caliber become part of the Penn State basketball family,¡± DeChellis said. ¡°He has been a coach for over two decades and I feel fortunate to have someone with his experience join my staff. Kurt is an outstanding coach with Pennsylvania roots. He will have a great impact on the success of our program.¡±

The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina and served on the Gamecock staff for five seasons. Kanaskie, who was an All-State basketball player at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from LaSalle University in 1980 and a Master of Business Administration from South Carolina in 1985. While at LaSalle, he earned All-Big Five and All-East Coach Conference honors and was drafted by the NBA¡¯s Golden State Warriors. Kanaskie was an Academic All-American and left LaSalle as the school¡¯s ninth all-time leading scorer.