Dean Keener - Men's Basketball Coach - James Madison University Athletics

Dean Keener

Title:
Head Coach

Playing basketball at the college level sparked an interest in coaching the game in Dean Keener, and in his first head coaching opportunity he found a situation where he expected to succeed and in an area with which he had great familiarity.

Keener assumed his position as JMU’s head coach in April 2004 and did so already having first-hand knowledge of the university, the Dukes’ basketball program and the region in which JMU competes and from which it attracts most of its students.

Keener previously was an assistant coach on the JMU staff, he had spent two tenures as an assistant coach at nearby Virginia Tech, and his wife, Meg, is a Virginia native with family in the state.

The seventh coach in JMU’s NCAA varsity basketball history, Keener is 41 and a native of Tallmadge, Ohio. He was a Division I college assistant coach for 16 seasons, including from 2000-04 at Georgia Tech, which advanced to the 2003-04 NCAA Tournament championship game. He coached at JMU during the Dukes’ 20-9 season in 1999-2000, a campaign during which JMU tied for the Colonial Athletic Association’s regular-season championship.

“We have an individual who I think is an ideal fit for this institution,” Jeff Bourne, JMU’s athletics director, said during the introductory press conference for Keener. “He is a very talented individual who has great rapport with young people.”

A 1988 Davidson graduate, Keener coached for two seasons at Drake (1988-90), one at Southern California (1990-91), four at Virginia Tech (1991-95) and two at Southern Methodist (1995-97) before returning to Virginia Tech for two seasons (1997-99). He worked under his college coach, Bobby Hussey, during his second Virginia Tech tenure and became the Hokies’ top assistant. Keener worked under Sherman Dillard during his JMU season, and Dillard was that season’s CAA coach of the year.

Keener drew on his background at JMU and good experiences from his first tenure at the university when considering the Dukes’ head coaching position.

“My staff and I have been well received. One of the reasons I left Georgia Tech to take the JMU job was that I knew the history and tradition of JMU and the respect the university receives,” Keener said.

Professional Preparations

Keener received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Davidson. He was a graduate assistant while at Drake and assisted George Raveling at Southern California before joining Bill Foster’s Virginia Tech staff in 1991. He worked under Mike Dement at Southern Methodist before returning to Virginia Tech during Hussey’s tenure with the Hokies.

Keener joined the Georgia Tech staff soon after Paul Hewitt’s hiring as head coach for the 2000-01 season and played a leading role as the Yellow Jackets established themselves as one of the nation’s leading teams. Georgia Tech competed in the NCAA Tournament with a veteran team in 2000-01 and completed the 2003-04 season with a 28-10 record. The 2003-04 Georgia Tech team won the Preseason National Invitation Tournament with a victory over then-top-ranked Connecticut among its tournament wins.

Keener was heavily involved in recruiting the four classes of players who made up Georgia Tech’s first Final Four team since 1990 as well as the overall management of the Yellow Jackets’ program.

“I was very fortunate to work for Paul Hewitt at Georgia Tech, and I feel good that I was able to help bring Georgia Tech basketball back to national prominence,” Keener said. “He is as talented a coach as there is in the college basketball game today. He influenced my thinking, but he also helped confirm what I wanted to do as a head coach. Our ways of thinking are very similar.”

Program Development At JMU

At JMU, Keener employs many of the characteristics that he saw as keys to the success of the Georgia Tech program during his tenure there.

“We stress the same kind of work ethic and place the same kind of emphasis on conditioning and mental toughness here at JMU that helped us achieve great things at Georgia Tech,” he said. “There is no reason we can’t have similar success at JMU.

“We will extend the court and press, three-quarters, full court, depending on our depth,” he said. “This is a style that players and fans enjoy and helps in the recruiting process. Conditioning is going to be a factor; this can’t be overstated. Our athletes are going to be in the best-possible condition, and that will put us in position to hopefully dictate style of play.

“I believe that any team of greatness has to start at the defensive end. We will play multiple defenses with everything being built out of solid man-to-man principles. We want our opponents to struggle finding their rhythm and to eliminate easy baskets,” Keener said.

Recruiting is an essential part of the college game, and as an assistant Keener was well respected in that area. He also has assembled a JMU staff that is energetic and hard working and that relates to players with the potential to join the Dukes’ program.

“We need to recruit players who can help us win the CAA, players who are going to succeed academically, possess an outstanding skill, have a great work ethic, and are going to get along with others,” he said. “Recruiting is the lifeblood of every program. Regardless of how organized you are or how good of a coach you are, it is difficult to have a successful program without quality players.”

Background

During his first tenure at Virginia Tech while working under Foster, Keener was a part of one of the top periods in team history. The 1994-95 Hokies won a team-record 25 games and won the championship of the National Invitation Tournament.

While at Southern Methodist, Keener helped the Mustangs improve from an 8-20 record to a 16-12 mark during his final season.

“I’ve worked for some really good people and some good basketball coaches,” Keener said. “I think I’ve been able to take a lot from all of them and form my philosophy on how I want to run a program and how it will be perceived.”

As a player at Davidson, Keener served as a team captain and was a member of the school’s 1986 NCAA Tournament team.

Keener is married to the former Meg Young of Radford, Va., and they have two young children -- a daughter, Julia, and a son, Kyle. Meg Keener received bachelor’s and graduate degrees at Virginia Tech.

Coaching Career
1988-90: Drake graduate assistant coach.
1990-91: Southern California assistant coach.
1991-95: Virginia Tech assistant coach, including during a National Invitation Tournament championship season in 1994-95 when the Hokies won a team-record 25 games.
1995-97: Southern Methodist assistant coach.
1997-99: Virginia Tech assistant coach.
1999-2000: JMU assistant coach with a 20-9 team that tied for the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season championship.
2000-2004: Georgia Tech assistant coach, including during an NCAA Tournament season in 2000-01 and an NCAA Tournament national championship-game appearance in 2003-04.
2004-Present: Head coach JMU.