UAM introduces Greg Long as new women’s basketball coach
UAM Athletics
Zane Bush, Director of Athletic Communications
MONTICELLO – Padraic McMeel, Director of Athletics, has announced the hiring of new head women’s basketball coach, Greg Long.
Coach Long comes to UAM from the University of Central Arkansas where he was the Associate Head Coach.
“I am truly excited to have Greg, his wife Jill and their daughter Aubree join the UAM Athletics Family,” McMeel said. “Greg brings a tremendous wealth of recruiting experience and teaching to this position and is extremely familiar with Southeastern Arkansas. His personality, drive, and passion for developing young women not only on the court but in the classroom and in life were evident in each of our conversations.
“We talk about #WinnersWin, to win in everything we do and Greg has had success in each of his previous coaching stops. I know Greg will continue to build on the foundation set forth by Coach Ray as well as the tremendous history of Cotton Blossoms basketball.”
In his time at Central Arkansas, the Sugar Bears won at an unprecedented clip. During his four seasons with the program’s first two NCAA Tournament berths and Southland Conference Tournament championships, along with a Southland regular-season championship and the program’s first national postseason tournament victories as the Sugar Bears advanced to the championship game of the 2018 WBI.
Following a 54-9 mark with the back-to-back titles in his first two seasons, Long was promoted to Associate Head Coach following the 2016-17 season.
In his three seasons in Conway, the Sugar Bears have finished each regular season in the national Top 10 in scoring defense – ranking 9th in 2016, 4th in 2017 and finished the year ranked 2nd in 2018 with a Southland Conference record 50.9 points per game allowed.
Before his time at UCA, Long was at Delta State as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator. During his time at DSU, the Lady Statesmen were ranked No. 1 in the nation, made back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, won consecutive conference championships, and had a .820 winning percentage. He helped to develop three All-Americans, seven all-region players, seven all-conference players, and the Preseason National Player of the Year in NCAA Division II.
Prior to his time at Delta State, Long was a successful high school coach in his hometown of Ocala, Fla. – first as an assistant coach for the boys team at Ocala Forest High, where he helped guide the team to their first winning season in more than a decade; then as a head coach at Trinity Catholic. At Trinity Catholic, his teams improved from 8 to 22 wins from his first to the second season, winning a district title en route to a Sweet 16 showing in the state tournament an a Top 15 ranking in state media polls.
He played collegiately at Chowan College under head coach Bob Burke, who retired as the third-winningest coach in North Carolina collegiate history behind Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski and was an associate head coach at Hawaii and an assistant for the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers. Long played high school basketball at Vanguard HS under legendary Florida high school coach Jim Haley, who compiled 655 wins and three state championships. In 1997, Long played on Haley’s final team to be ranked No. 1 in the state and made a run to the Elite 8 en route to a 21-11 record for the season.
Long is married to the former Jill Trimmer of Marietta, Ga. They have one daughter, Aubree.
“The University of Arkansas at Monticello has a rich basketball tradition and I am excited for the opportunity to lead the women’s basketball program,” Long said. “My family and I are thrilled to be a part of the Monticello family and community. I believe our brand of basketball will be fun to watch and our players will be great representatives for the community. I want the thank Chancellor Karla Hughes and Padraic McMeel for the chance to leave my mark here at UAM.”