SLU Billikens
Ford Adds Macon to SLU Staff
ST. LOUIS – Van Macon, a 21-year coaching veteran, has been named an assistant coach for the Saint Louis men’s basketball program, Billikens head coach Travis Ford announced today.
Macon has spent the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at Rutgers. Previously, he coached for nine years at Hofstra, including three as associate head coach.
Macon joins assistant coach Will Bailey on the Billikens’ men’s basketball staff, leaving one assistant coaching position remaining.
“I am happy to be part of the Billiken family,” Macon said. “I have always admired the work of Coach Ford at his previous stops, and I’m honored to be a part of his first staff here at Saint Louis. I have a lot of familiarity with the Atlantic 10 Conference, and that is one of the reasons I am so excited about this opportunity. The A-10 is a great league and we look forward to competing for championships.”
“Bringing on someone with Coach Macon’s experience as a coach and his recruiting knowledge is invaluable for our program,” Ford said. “He has exceptional recruiting ties in the East from New York City to Florida, which includes the A-10 footprint. Coach Macon truly has a tremendous reputation in the basketball world as not only a great recruiter and coach, but as a great person as well. He is a fantastic Xs and Os coach and builds great relationships with his players. Our guys are going to really enjoy being around and working with Coach Macon everyday.”
Macon, a native of the Queens neighborhood of Corona in New York City, was named one of the “Top 100 Assistant Coaches in the College Game Today” by Hoop Scoop in 2012.
Prior to joining the Rutgers staff in 2010-11, Macon was at Hofstra for nine seasons. He helped the Pride to four postseason appearances during his tenure.
Previously, Macon served assistant coaching stints at Adelphi, Marist, Lafayette and SUNY-Farmingdale.
Macon began his collegiate playing career in the junior college ranks, having graduated from Nassau Community College second on the all-time scoring list. In 2012, he was inducted into the Nassau Community College Athletics Hall of Fame.
After spending a year as a medical redshirt at Long Island University in Brooklyn, N.Y., Macon went on to star at Southampton College in New York. He graduated from Southampton in 1994 with a degree in English Literature.
Macon and his wife Pam have two sons, Eric and Mel.
Editor: This article is a press release from SLUBillikens.com