C of C's Byington among top assistant coaches in college basketball

Image by C of C Sports

College of Charleston men's basketball associate head coach Mark Byington (Salem, Va.) was recently voted by his peers as one of the top assistant coaches in college basketball in a national league-by-league rundown compiled by FoxSports.com senior basketball writer Jeff Goodman.

"Mark is an excellent basketball coach and X's and O's man," said CofC head coach Bobby Cremins of his top assistant. "He's a hard worker and is destined to become a very successful head coach in the near future." In his eighth overall season with the Cougars and fifth under Cremins, Byington is in charge of the development of the team's guards and wing players. He was a three-year starter and all-conference player at UNC Wilmington from 1995-98 and has helped CofC become one of the top mid-major programs in the country and an annual contender in the Southern Conference.

Byington's coaching dossier also includes tenures in the ACC at Virginia and one of the top prep schools in the nation in Hargrave Military Academy (Va.). He was tabbed as the No. 1 assistant in the SoCon and is joined on the coaching short list by Jeff Battle of Wake Forest (ACC), Mike Hopkins of Syracuse (BIG EAST), Mark Montgomery of Michigan State (Big Ten), Russell Springmann of Texas (Big 12), Dedrique Taylor of Arizona State (Pac-10) and Larry Shyatt of Florida (SEC).

"Coach B has taught me every principle I know in basketball," said preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year Andrew Goudelock. "The same principles I try to teach to our younger guys including the fundamentals I know defensively and offensively. He knows so much about the game and has so much knowledge. You have no choice but to get better being around someone like that. I value everything I've learned from him over the years. He has expanded, shaped and developed everything in my game from shooting, moving the ball, playing defense and learning rotations. I credit him and the rest of our coaching staff for a lot of the things I do on the court now."

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