Coach known for recruiting prowess

As Georgia Tech made its run to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament ‘s Final Four, its success was built around the talent of the Yellow Jacket players over the last four seasons. One of the main people to thank for that development is Dean Keener.

In his four seasons in Atlanta, Keener was the lead recruiter with Georgia Tech. In addition to coaching on the court, Keener made a niche for himself in the recruiting aspect of the game during his 16 seasons as an assistant in college basketball.

“Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program,” Keener said. “No matter how organized you are and how great a coach you are, it is difficult to have a successful program without successful players.”

Keener is a great recruiter because he has the qualities needed to be successful, according to Clemson University assistant Ben D’Allessandro, who was an assistant coach with Keener during the Dukes’ 1999-’00 season.

“The No. 1 quality of any great recruiter is your work ethic and how you build relationships,” he said. “Those are the two things that Dean is very good at. He is an extremely hard worker and he’s a great person. People are attracted to his personality. He’s very genuine.”

JMU women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks, who also was an assistant with Keener during the 1999-’00 season, said Keener’s professionalism and the way he treats people carries over to his recruiting abilities.

“He’s one of the best recruiters that I’ve seen because he is a tireless worker and he is so organized,” Brooks said.

Those qualities helped Keener land recruits such as current Toronto Raptors rookie Chris Bosh, who went pro after one season at Georgia Tech.

“He has helped get the big time talent to Georgia Tech, and I believe he will be doing the same at JMU for a number of years,” said Ian Caskill (’03), who played as a freshman at JMU under Keener’s tenure.

“Kids will want to come play for Dean Keener, and he will attract some good talent to JMU,” Caskill added.

Red-shirt sophomore forward David Cooper said JMU historically has recruited talent, and that Keener can help bring in more talent.

“I think he can help us mold our talent to the maximum of our potential,” Cooper said.

However, recruiting in a mid-major such as the Colonial Athletic Association is a lot different from recruiting blue-chip prospects at schools such as Georgia Tech in a big-time league such as the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“It’s vitally important to identify who JMU can recruit and who we can get,” Keener said. “We’d all love to recruit the great name players. In some cases, JMU may not be able to attract those kind of kids.

“But, we need to recruit players that can help us win the CAA, kids that are going to help us succeed academically, possess outstanding skill, have a great work ethic, get along well with others and guys that are hard to guard,” he added.