New Penn State men’s basketball head coach Mike Rhoades has added to his coaching staff by bringing over a pair of VCU assistants.
Taking the role of Director of Recruiting will be Brandon Rozzell while longtime Rhoades assistant Jimmy Martelli joins Penn State as an assistant coach.
Rossell has been with Rhoades for two years serving as their Director of Student-Athlete Development. He graduated from VCU in 2011 after a career in which he finished eighth in career three-pointers (193) in their school’s history. He was a key senior leader of their 2011 Final Four team when he averaged a career best 11.5 points per game.
He then spent 10 years as a professional basketball player, most notably in Europe. He was named MVP of the Danish Basketligaen with Svendborg in 2016 and was twice selected MVP of his league’s championship series. Those came when he helped capture a Swedish League Championship in 2017 and claimed an Icelandic Cup with Stjarnan in 2019.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Martelli has been with Rhoades for 12 years dating back to their time at Randolph-Macon. During those 12 years, eight have been as an assistant coach. He was previously the Chief of Staff at VCU and fills the role at Penn State that was vacated by J.D Byers who left to take an assistant coaching position at Virginia Tech where his wife is a volleyball coach.
“My family and I are thrilled for J.D.,” said Rhoades in the school’s press release. “J.D. has been on my staff for 12 years and this move was too good of an opportunity for him to pass up as he now gets to be together as a family with his wife, Marci, and their two daughters. Jimmy has been an integral member of our staff over the last six years and his elevation to assistant coach will provide a smooth transition for our program. I have no doubt that Jimmy will continue to positively impact our student-athletes and program in his new role.”
