Mike Gillian enters his fifth season with the FIU men’s basketball staff, serving as an assistant coach.
During his time with the Panthers, Gillian has worked extensively with FIU’s post players, helping mold former FIU standout Adrian Diaz into one of the premier defensive big men in the country. In addition, along with Diaz, Gillian also was a major factor in Daviyon Draper and Michael Kessens becoming three of the top offensive threats in Conference USA during their time at FIU.
Before coming to FIU, Gillian completed ten years as head coach at Longwood University, where he was the longest-tenured head coach in the history of the men’s basketball program. Since taking the helm on May 2, 2003, he built a NCAA Division I program from the ground up, including the four-year reclassification from Division II (2003-07). Gillian’s 10-year overall record at Longwood is 92-213, including an overall homecourt record of 67-58 in Willett Hall where the program is an impressive 64-38 over an eight-year stretch. The Lancers were 10-21 during 2011-12 to equal their fourth-best record during Gillian’s tenure.
Longwood finished both 2010-11 and 2009-10 with a final record of 12-19 after the Lancers completed 2008-09 with a record of 17-14, their best record under Gillian and highest win total since beginning Division I scheduling in 2004-05, and the most wins for the program overall since 2000-01. Longwood had an impressive home record of 13-2, their best since 1993-94, and the +8 turnaround tied for 18th-best in Division I. For his efforts, CollegeInsider.com named Gillian the 2009 Independents Coach of the Year. The 17 wins also tie for the ninth-most in the program’s history.
Before his arrival at Longwood, Gillian had been an assistant coach at George Mason University under current Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Jim Larranaga from 1997-2003. He had also worked under Larranaga for one season at Bowling Green State (Ohio) University (1996-97) before moving with him to George Mason. Gillian played a role in the recruitment of several members of the Mason team that shocked the world of college basketball during the 2005-06 season while advancing to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
During Gillian’s six seasons as an assistant coach at Mason, the Patriots went 100-74 overall with a 66-34 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) record, winning two CAA Tournament Championships (1999, 2001) and two CAA regular season titles (1999, 2000). He counts George Evans, currently playing overseas, among the many standout players he helped coach at GMU. George Mason also earned two NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2001) and made one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearance (2002). The Patriots were 57-18 overall at home in the Patriot Center, posting a 41-8 CAA homecourt record.
At Bowling Green, the Falcons finished 22-10 while winning the 1997 Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular-season title (13-5) and earning a NIT appearance. MAC Player of the Year Antonio Daniels, who enjoyed a 13-year NBA career, led that BGSU team.
Before joining Larranaga at BGSU, Gillian was an assistant coach at Division II American International (Mass.) from 1989-95. During that six-year stint working for Jimmy Powell, the Yellow Jackets went 117-58 overall with a 75-33 Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) record, winning both the NE-10 regular season and tournament championships in 1994 (26-6). American International also advanced to the second-round of the Division II Tournament that year.
Gillian has been a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) since 1989. He was a YES Clinic speaker at the Division I Men’s Final Four from 1998-2000, and again in 2007 in Atlanta, and has extensive public speaking experience through his involvement with numerous booster, local business and civic organizations, and charity events. At Longwood, Gillian appeared on ESPN2’s Cold Pizza, and was a weekly in-season guest on Richmond Sports Radio 910 (The Final Round With Wes McElroy, The Mike Maniscalco Show). He also served as the same station’s NCAA Tournament Analyst, co-hosted his own in-season Mike Gillian Show on Farmville’s Kickin’ Country 92.9, served as that station’s NCAA Tournament Analyst and co-hosted a monthly morning sports talk radio show on Farmville’s WFLO AM 870.
Gillian was a four-year letterman as an undergraduate at Division III North Adams State (now the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) and served as a team captain during his final two years. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from North Adams and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from American International.
A native of Ayer, Massachusetts, Gillian and his wife, Janet, have a daughter, Emma.
