Michael Schwartz adds to his coaching staff with a familiar face from his days at Tennessee
East Carolina University has expanded its basketball staff by appointing Ira ‘I.J.’ Poole as a new assistant coach, as declared by head coach Michael Schwartz on Friday morning.
Poole joins the staff following the departure of Jake Morton, who secured a position at Florida State after serving on ECU’s staff for the past two years. Morton had previously worked with Schwartz at other locations. Additionally, assistant coach Mark Adams left the program to rejoin Chris Beard at Ole Miss earlier in the offseason. Adams, the former head coach at Texas Tech, had been with the Pirates in Greenville for one season.
Poole’s connection to Schwartz stems from his role as the assistant to the head coach under Rick Barnes at Tennessee from 2019 to 2021. During this time, Schwartz was the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Tennessee before assuming the ECU coaching position for the 2022-23 season.
“We are incredibly lucky to welcome I.J. Poole to our coaching team,” stated Schwartz. “He is an outstanding individual and a seasoned professional in this industry. I.J. possesses a top-tier understanding of basketball and exceptional relationship-building abilities, which will enable him to immediately contribute across all aspects of our program. We are thrilled to have I.J. and his wife Rachel become part of the Pirate family.”
Last season, Poole worked at Providence as the associate director of player development under Kim English, who had previously been part of the Tennessee staff with Schwartz and Poole. Prior to this role, Poole joined English from George Mason to Providence, where he had spent the previous two seasons as the director of player personnel and scouting for the Patriots.
Poole’s appointment brings the total number of ECU assistant coaches to four. Riley Davis, who joined Schwartz’s staff before his inaugural season in Greenville, remains, while Reggie Williams, previously the director of player personnel in 2022-23, is now in his second season as an assistant coach. Josh Giardina, formerly a graduate assistant at Tennessee, is now entering his third season at ECU, and his second as an assistant coach.
The basketball support staff also includes Jesse Higdon (Director of Basketball Operations), recently hired Colton Susen (strength and conditioning coach), and Nate Clark (athletic trainer/medical services). In Schwartz’s first two years at East Carolina, the Pirates achieved records of 16-17 and 15-18.
Poole spent two seasons at Appalachian State, starting as the director of basketball operations, managing budgets, daily schedules, and team travel in his first year before being elevated to assistant coach for the 2018-19 season.
He started his career at the University of Texas as a student manager and was part of two NCAA Tournament teams with the Longhorns. The Texas team averaged 22 wins per season during his time there.
A native of Austin, Texas, Poole graduated from Texas in 2015 with a degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Biology.
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