Longwood head men’s basketball coach Jayson Gee has resigned after five seasons, Director of Athletics Troy Austin announced in a press release on Friday, March 2.
According to the March 2 press release, Gee and Austin mutually agreed to part ways based on the team’s performances and results.
“After a number of conversations between Coach Gee and myself, we agreed it is time to give someone else an opportunity to move the men’s basketball program forward,” said Austin in the press release. “Longwood men’s basketball took some important steps under Coach Gee, and he demonstrated unwavering commitment to helping his student-athletes develop as people, not just basketball players.”
Austin will begin the process of finding Longwood’s next head basketball coach immediately, according to the release.
Gee became the program’s eighth head coach after being hired in April 2013, and accumulated a 42-120 record over his five seasons at the helm. He also boasts the program’s first Big South semifinals appearance in 2015.
The Lancers ended the 2017-18 season with a 7-26 record following their loss to Radford on Thursday, March 1, eliminating them from the Big South tournament. The 29-year coaching veteran said, despite the results, he’s proud of what his team has accomplished during his five years as head coach.
“I sincerely thank Troy Austin, President (W. Taylor) Reveley and Longwood University for the opportunity they provided me to serve as Longwood’s head men’s basketball coach for these past five seasons,” Gee said in the press release. “Building a competitive program at the Division I level is a long-term process, and while our results were not what I envisioned when I took this job, I am proud of what my staff and players accomplished.”
He continued, “However, despite the adversity we endured, I stand by my assertion that Longwood basketball is better now than it was five years ago, not just in terms of the caliber of basketball player and person we have been able to attract, but also in the culture our staff and players have built.”
Gee referenced the amount of injuries Longwood basketball faced, limiting their abilities to compete at a high level. The team ended the 2016-17 season with only seven scholarship players available, and finished this season with nine, according to Gee.
Austin said Longwood made a commitment to building the men’s basketball program’s culture and success to compete in the Big South conference beyond the coach Gee era.
