LeBron James hyped over Ionas Dan Geriot head coaching hire: Hell yeah

The King has spoken … about his support for Iona’s newest head men’s basketball coach.Shortly after the Gaels announced Dan Geriot as the team’s newest head basketball coach on Thursday, LeBron James took to social media to congratulate him.“HELL YEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH BIG DAN!!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS BROTHER!!!” James posted on X.Geriot, 36, previously served as an assistant for 10 years in the NBA before taking the role at Iona, nine of them with the Cavaliers organization.His time in Cleveland overlapped with James’ second Cavs tenure (2015-18), with Geriot being named an assistant coach during the 40-year-old’s final season with the team.Amid announcing Geriot as the school’s newest head coach, Iona also teased adding a general manager, the first in the program’s history.Iona cited a push to boost the school’s NIL revenue as one of the reasons behind hiring Geriot.“The landscape of college basketball has changed dramatically over the last couple of years.In order to sustain the success Iona basketball has achieved over several decades, we need a different orientation and structure for the program,” Iona president Seamus Carey said in a statement.

“Dan Geriot’s experience fits the needs of the program well, and we are confident that under his guidance our student-athletes will grow and succeed both on and off the court.” Geriot’s hiring comes just three days after Iona surprisingly let go of Tobin Anderson.Anderson took over the program after Rick Pitino’s departure to St.John’s before the 2023-24 season.Anderson was unable to replicate the Gales’ success after Pitino led Iona to two NCAA tournament appearances during his three-year tenure at the school.During Anderson’s two years at Iona, the Gaels failed to get out of the MAAC tournament....