Maryland has officially announced Tony Skinn as the first assistant on head coach Kevin Willard’s staff.
Skinn, a Takoma Park native with deep DMV ties, joins the program after one year at Ohio State and previously spent three seasons at Seton Hall under Willard.
“Tony is a perfect fit to join our staff here at Maryland,” said Willard. “He’s a Maryland guy. A DMV guy. He grew up here, played here, coached here and is as connected to the area as any coach. He’s a great friend and we enjoyed great success at Seton Hall. He knows the Big Ten and has developed some of the most talented young players in the nation. I’m so excited to welcome him and his family home to Maryland.”
Skinn’s specialty is guard play as he worked closely with Buckeyes freshman guard Malaki Branham, who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Skinn also coached the guards at Seton Hall and helped Quincy McNight rise to one of the Big East’s best guards, along with aiding the development of 2020 Big East Player of the Year Myles Powell.
As a player, Skinn shined on the 2006 George Mason team that went to the Final Four before playing professionally in Europe for many years, including three in France. Skinn was a member of the 2012 Olympic-qualifying Nigerian national team, but began his coaching career with Team Takeover and as director of athletics at the Paul International High School in Washington D.C. Now in College Park, the DMV native gives the new Maryland staff a potential ace recruiter.
“Coming back home to work at Maryland, a school I grew up just miles away from, is a dream come true for me,” said Skinn. “Coach Willard is going to build something very special at Maryland. I can’t wait to get out and recruit the best kids in the DMV and around the country and help them develop into stars for the Terps. Our family is thrilled to be coming home.”
The impending hire was reported by Inside the Black and Gold on Sunday, one day before Mount St. Joseph head coach Pat Clatchey was among the local coaches praising the Terps’ newest DMV recruiter.
“Tony’s been in the college basketball business for a while and he knows the area well, the DMV area and now he’s moving up,” Clatchey added. “He was in Jersey, I think he was at Louisiana and now Ohio State so his recruiting branches have grown.” It’s also good hearing additional praise from Team Durant director of recruiting Dwayne Wise. “He has strong ties to [Team Durant] and Takeover.”