Philadelphia native Eugene Burroughs joined the Nittany Lion coaching staff in June of 2011, shortly after Patrick Chambers was announced as the 12th head coach in program history. Burroughs brings 15 years of collegiate coaching experience to Penn State as well as a long relationship to Chambers dating back to their high school years.
Burroughs previously served as an assistant coach at Navy during Billy Lange[apos]s entire seven-year tenure from 2004-11. Like Chambers, Burroughs has strong ties to Villanova coach Jay Wright, having served as an assistant to him at Hofstra for three seasons from 1997-2000, and to Philadelphia coaching legend Dan Dougherty, having played with Chambers at Episcopal Academy. Burroughs also previously served as an assistant coach at Marist College and American University.
[quote]I have known coach Burroughs for over 20 years,[quote] Chambers said. [quote]He has experience, knowledge and great passion for the game. Being a former player, he will be able to relate to the players and the challenges they will endure on and off the court.[quote]
Burroughs worked specifically with the guards at Navy and was credited with helping to develop All-Patriot League picks such as Greg Sprink, Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris. Burroughs has developed a reputation as an outstanding recruiter, having landed a large number of the top players during the Lange era at Navy. Burroughs had particular success in Texas, signing 2011 Patriot League Rookie of the Year J.J. Avila and former Patriot League All-Rookie team member Trey Stanton along with multi-year starters O.J. Avworo and Romeo Garcia.
[quote]I am excited to be a part of the Penn State basketball family,[quote] Burroughs said. [quote]Having the opportunity to work with coach Chambers is exciting. His passion and energy is unbelievable. I[apos]m very confident that Penn State will be a consistent contender in the Big Ten under his leadership.[quote]
Burroughs spent four seasons (2000-04) as an assistant coach at Marist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. As a member of the Red Foxes program, he played a role in nearly every aspect of the day-to-day operation of the team, including conditioning and working with the backcourt players.
Prior to joining the Marist staff in the summer of 2000, he spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Hofstra (1997-2000). While at Hofstra, Burroughs coordinated the individual instruction program for each player, as well has handling team travel and game day operations. During the 1999-2000 season, Burroughs helped lead the Flying Dutchmen to a 24-7 overall mark and a 16-2 mark in the America East Conference. That season, Hofstra captured the America East Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Burroughs began his coaching career with a one-year stint (1996-97) at American University in Washington, D.C. As an assistant coach under Chris Knoche, he was responsible for scouting, individual instruction, preseason conditioning and the film exchange program.
A 1994 graduate of the University of Richmond with a degree in speech communication, Burroughs played for Dick Tarrant and served as team captain as a senior. He garnered Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) All-Defensive honors as a junior and was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team in 1991. As a co-captain during the 1993-94 campaign, he started in 25 games, leading the Spiders in minutes played (31.1) and assists (4.0), while averaging 8.4 points per game. He dished out 105 assists as a senior, which stands 10th on Richmond[apos]s single-season assists leader board. In addition, Burroughs left the program ranking sixth all-time in steals (127) and assists (316) in Spider history.