David Cox Lands Prime Pitt Job

Ron Bailey, Publisher

June 26, 2006 – i95Ballerz.com would like to give a big up to former St. John’s College Preparatory High School administrator and D.C. Assault coach, David Cox. The seven year St. John’s and Assault professional shared during a recent phone interview, he is presently poised to accept the Director of Basketball Operations position at the University of Pittsburgh.

At Pitt, Cox relayed his upcoming duties as “I’ll be the fourth assistant coach” working for that program’s head coach, Jamie Dixon, while also functioning as “a liaison between the administration and the basketball office”. The position contains several restrictions not imposed upon other assistants, as during practices he “can’t supply input”, and can only “go out on the road and recruit” within a 30 mile radius of Pitt’s campus.

For a guy who has always wanted to coach in some capacity, and during the last several years started to seriously contemplate the move to college coaching, a chance to work on Pitt’s proved to irresistible. Though an intriguing opportunity recently availed itself at Morgan State University (with the talented Todd Bozeman), coaching at Pitt allows him to work in the Big East, which he dubbed “The best basketball conference in America”. Additionally, he shared that league will provide “great visibility and allow me to recruit Big East kids”.

That last point, recruiting, should not be overlooked, as Cox indicated working with DC Assault primed him so to speak, in relation to “dealing with big time players, and their parents”. Additionally, coaching big-time AAU ball has exposed him to the various concerns regarding basketball ball teams and their travel needs.

Another reason the Assault experience was invaluable in David’s opinion, was the opportunity to work with that organization’s director and coach, Curtis Malone. To that end, Cox made a special point of acknowledging him. “I’d like to give a special thanks to Curtis Malone” he said. “He’s always been loyal, a friend, and a mentor. Without him, I wouldn’t be in this position”.

Though he is confident in his ability to meet any challenge the University of Pittsburgh may pose, David did have to factor in his family’s needs before accepting the job. Accompanying him to Pittsburgh will be wife Tasha, and daughter Lela, and an infant soon to be delivered. The litmus test for uprooting his family from their Washington, DC area home (both Cox and his wife are from the area) was a four hour car ride – Pitt is within that boundary.

The opportunity to coach in the Big East is daunting, but Cox shared “I’m up for the challenge. I’m exited to learn and be there”. He summed his feelings by saying “It’s a lifetime dream come true”.

Again, hats off to David Cox. Through hard work, he’s making his dreams materialize.