John Brannen Position: Assistant Coach

John Brannen is in his third season on the Alabama coaching staff as the program's recruiting coordinator after serving in the same role on Anthony Grant's staff at VCU for three seasons.

In his second season at Alabama, he helped guide the Crimson Tide to a 25-12 record and an appearance in the NIT championship game and an SEC Western Division crown. Along the way, the Tide's defense became one of the best in the nation while making Coleman Coliseum one of the most hostile home courts in the country with UA posting a 19-0 record at home.

His efforts in recruiting have also drawn wide acclaim as he helped the Tide land the nation's No. 5 recruiting class in 2011.

While at VCU he helped coach the Rams to three straight conference titles and postseason appearances including two NCAA Tournaments. In addition to his recruiting duties, Brannen focuses on player development, scouting and game preparation. He works particularly close with the Crimson Tide perimeter players.

At VCU he continued to develop his reputation as one of the nation's premier recruiters in landing a recruiting class that was ranked in the top 20 nationally in 2007. He followed that up with a 2008 class that was ranked third among mid-major programs by rivals.com and a 2009 class that was ranked fifth.

In addition to recruiting the Rams' championship teams, he helped coach the program to a 76-25 record in his three seasons with 12 players earning All-Colonial Athletic Association honors including two-time CAA Player of the Year Eric Maynor.

Brannen joined Grant at VCU after spending three seasons in the same capacity at St. Bonaventure, where he was the architect of the program's world-wide recruiting plan to help rebuild the Bonnies' program. In his first recruiting season, Brannen helped add six new student-athletes to the rapidly growing St. Bonaventure program.

Before his stint at St. Bonaventure, he was the top assistant at Eastern Kentucky for three seasons. While there , he recruited back-to-back classes that were ranked in the top 100 nationally, including the school's all time leading scorer. He was also responsible for academic mentoring, scheduling, the program's summer camps, along with strength and conditioning.

He also spent a season at the University of Charleston, helping coach the squad to a 28-4 record and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

A 1996 graduate of Marshall University with a degree in business management, Brannen played under Anthony Grant who was an assistant at Marshall at the time. A standout on both the court and in the classroom, he was a Rhodes Scholar finalist that received postgraduate scholarships from both the NCAA and Southern Conference.

Athletically, he led the SoCon in scoring his senior season (1996-97) by averaging 20.9 points per game and was named the league tournament MVP. He began his collegiate career at Morehead State before transferring to Marshall where he scored 1,008 points in just two seasons.

Following graduation from Marshall, he played two seasons professionally in Belgium's First Division, earning all-star honors and serving as a player-coach. Originally hailing from Covington, Ky., Brannen is married to the former Lisa Elswick. The couple are parents of twin daughters Jaylee and Katelyn.

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