Chipola men's basketball head coach Donnie Tyndall announced the addition of Lane Below, Jaren Harris, and JD Gledhill to the Indians' staff.
Lane Below (pronounced "blue") comes to Chipola after two seasons as an assistant coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Perkinston, Mississippi. Prior to his time at MGCCC, Below spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at the University of Mississippi working for head coach Kermit Davis, who was the head coach at Chipola in the 1993-94 season. and helped the Rebels make it to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Below played for head coach Andy Kennedy for two seasons at Ole Miss. In 2018, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in general studies and was a member of the Southeast Conference Academic Honor Roll. As a graduate assistant, he earned a master's degree in health promotion. Below started his collegiate playing career at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, playing for the legendary Gene Bess, the winningest college basketball coach at any level. Lane, a native of Advance, Missouri, is married to Hannah Below (née Noe), a former NCAA Division I basketball player at Southeast Missouri State University and the University of Evansville. The couple is expecting their first child in September.
"I'm excited to add Lane to our staff here at Chipola. He has worked for one of the best coaches in the country and good friend of mine, Kermit Davis at Ole Miss. I know he has been mentored and understands the way we will do things here in our program. In addition, he has spent two years under Coach Tim Ryan who is an outstanding Junior College head coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast. Lane helped Coach Ryan have immediate success in Mississippi and I believe he brings an outstanding work ethic, a huge passion for the game, and understands the goals and results that we want to have here at Chipola! We want to welcome Lane, his wife Hannah, and their soon to be baby girl to our basketball family!" - Coach Donnie Tyndall
Jaren Harris spent the previous two years as an assistant coach at South Georgia Techinical College. While at SGTC, he helped develop back-to-back Conference Players of the Year, a Conference Freshman of the Year, two NJCAA All-Americans and helped lead their team to their first trip to the NJCAA National Tournament since 2014. Harris began his college basketball playing career at the College of Coastal Georgia, playing for the Mariners from 2009 – 2011. While at the College of Coastal Georgia, he helped guide them to consecutive conference championship appearances. He was selected to all-conference and all-tournament teams and was also selected team captain in his sophomore season. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Albany State University to continue his education and basketball career. While playing for the Rams, he was awarded offensive player of the year and selected to the all-conference team. Off the court, he was a member of Center for the African-American Male and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Jaren, a native of Tennille, Georgia, graduated from Albany State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Health and Human Performance.
"Jaren is another great addition to our program. He made an impression on me a couple of years ago when we played South Georgia Tech and helped coach Chris Ballauer get that program to Hutch this past season! Jaren has worked for a great head coach and comes very highly recommended. He is a very good teacher on the floor and I am extremely excited about what he brings to our program from an energy standpoint." - Coach Donnie Tyndall
JD Gledhill, from Marietta, Georgia, rounds out the Chipola men's basketball staff. Gledhill comes to Chipola after spending the 2021-2022 season as a graduate assistant at Ole Miss on coach Kermit Davis's staff. Prior to that season, he served for five years as a student manager for the Rebels under Davis and former Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy. Gledhill graduated from Ole Miss in 2021 with a degree in geological engineering and went on to complete his Masters in Sports Analytics the following year.
"JD also worked for Coach Kermit Davis as a graduate assistant at Ole Miss and brings a real passion for player development. He has already started to build great relationships with our players and is another fantastic addition to our program here at Chipola." - Coach Donnie Tyndall
The trio replaces former assistant coaches Brandon Shingles, James Demopoulos, and Zak VerHulst. Shingles is now coaching at McNeese State University, a NCAA Division I school in the Southland Conference. Demopoulos is an assistant coach with the Saskatchewan Rattlers, a professional team in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. VerHulst was recently named the assistant men's basketball coach at Ranger College an NJCAA school in Texas.