Greg Gary hired to lead Mercer men’s basketball program

After the unexpected firing of former men’s basketball head coach Bob Hoffman, the Mercer Athletics department commenced their search for a new head coach to lead the program.

Just 16 days later, the search is over.  

In a press release on Mar. 26, Mercer Athletics announced the hiring of current Purdue Boilermakers assistant coach, Greg Gary, as the new men’s basketball head coach.

Gary has coached basketball at the college level for over 25 years, including the last eight at Purdue. He currently runs the offensive sets for the Boilermakers, and is known for his work with wing and post players.

"When we set out to look for a new head coach, we recognized Greg early in the process as someone we were confident in leading our men's basketball program," Mercer Director of Athletics, Jim Cole, said.

Although Gary’s hiring has been officially confirmed, he will not join the program quite yet. His Purdue team is still playing in the NCAA Tournament as one of the team’s in the Sweet 16 field.

However, that did not stop Mercer’s newest coach from sharing his excitement to join the Mercer basketball program.

"This is such an incredible opportunity and I am both grateful and honored to have been selected as the head men's basketball coach at Mercer University," Gary said. "My family and I could not be more thrilled to have joined the Mercer basketball family and we look forward to joining the Macon community.”

Gary takes over a Mercer squad that posted an 11-20 record in the 2018-2019 campaign. The team lost two seniors to graduation, but returns most of their scoring production for the upcoming season.