RADFORD, Va. – First-year Radford University head men's basketball coach
Mike Jones rounded out his staff with the additions of
Jon-David (JD) Byers and
Aaron Marshall.
Byers, who comes to Radford from an assistant's position at St. Francis (Pa.), will assume the same role for Jones. Marshall, who was previously at Colgate, will serve as the team's Director of Operations.
JD Byers Bio
For Byers, Radford marks his second stop as a Division I assistant.
Before working in 2010-11 at St. Francis under head coach Don Friday, Byers was part of a successful three-year run (2007-10) at Randolph-Macon where the Yellow Jackets won 60 games. In 2010, R-MC went 26-7 and advanced to the Division III Final Four.
Byers worked under current VCU assistant Mike Rhoades for two seasons, and under current R-MC head coach Nathan Davis for one year. Byers served as the team's recruiting coordinator, overseeing East Coast recruiting. On the court, he managed individual workouts, handled practice planning, coordinated strength and conditioning, and was in charge of scouting.
While at R-MC, Byers coached an ODAC Freshman of the Year and Division III Freshman All-America pick, an ODAC Player of the Year, and several all-conference performers.
Early in his coaching career Byers spent a season on the staff at Lebanon Valley, his alma mater. Byers was the recruiting coordinator for the Dutchmen, landing a Middle Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and a third team All-American. He began his coaching career at the first of three D-III stops, FDU-Madison.
As a player at Lebanon Valley, Byers had a decorated career. In addition to earning NABC First Team All-America honors as a senior, he was the 2005 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year and the 2005 Jostens Award winner, given to the nation's top Division III student-athlete.
Byers graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lebanon Valley in 2005 with a degree in accounting and business administration, and earned his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson in 2008.
Aaron Marshall Bio
Marshall arrives at Radford following four seasons at Colgate. He worked under Emmett Davis, the school's all-time winningest coach.
In 2008, a year after arriving at Colgate, Marshall was promoted to the second assistant spot. He served in compliance, recruiting and player development, scouting and working with the post players with the Raiders. Marshall also handled Colgate's alumni relations through the program's Hardwood Club and directed the team's community relations efforts.
While at Colgate, Marshall was a part of the team's best regular season mark since 1996 with an 18-14 record in 2007-08 and a berth in the Patriot League Championship Game.
Marshall's coaching career began in 2006 at Division III SUNY Potsdam.
A standout player at D-III St. Lawrence, Marshall was a four-year letterwinner for the Saints and served as captain in his final two seasons. In his senior season, he was first team All-Liberty League for the second time, and was a first team NABC East All-District selection. In addition, he received St. Lawrence's Senior Male Athlete Award in 2005. During his collegiate career, he scored 1,442 points and grabbed 611 rebounds, and in 2003 was the NCAA field goal percentage leader making 67.9 percent of his shots.
Marshall, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., earned his Bachelor's in religious studies from St. Lawrence in 2005.
