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St. Joe’s men’s hoops assistant John Linehan joins BYU staff

Linehan, a Chester native who also held roles at Temple and Drexel, was an instrumental part in the Hawks’ run to the National Invitation Tournament this past season.

Saint Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange will be searching for a new assistant after John Linehan departed for BYU.
Saint Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange will be searching for a new assistant after John Linehan departed for BYU.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
    by Staff Reports
    Published 

St. Joseph’s men’s assistant basketball coach John Linehan has joined the coaching staff at BYU, ending a two-season stint on the Hawks’ sideline.

Linehan, a Chester native who also held roles at Temple and Drexel, was an instrumental part of the Hawks’ run to the National Invitation Tournament this past season. The program also won the inaugural Big 5 Classic title at the Wells Fargo Center. Before St. Joe’s, Linehan was an assistant at Georgia for four seasons under coach Tom Crean and spent the two seasons prior at Hartford.

St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange has yet to name a successor for Linehan, regarded as one of the best college defensive players during his playing career. In five seasons at Providence (1997-2002), Linehan was a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and set an NCAA record with 385 career steals that stood until 2021.

BYU coach Kevin Young noted as much in his remarks regarding Linehan joining his staff this season:

“John comes to BYU after working for two coaches I have great respect for in Billy Lange and Tom Crean,” Young said in a statement. “He is an exceptional player development coach, who has worked with some of the game’s great players. John will help our guys get better every day with his energy and passion for development. John is one of the best defensive players in NCAA history and will bring that edge to our program.”