Albany State names new basketball coach

ALBANY — Patrick Gayle was looking for an opportunity to move up in the coaching ranks. Albany State’s athletics department was looking for a proven winner.

It was a family-friendly philosophy, however, that led Gayle and ASU to connect, with Gayle introduced as the Golden Rams’ men’s basketball head coach Tuesday in a news conference in the West Campus Arena.

Gayle, a father of four, believes in campus and community involvement. He taught middle school math and also worked with the NAIA Champions of Character program and the Dwyane Wade Basketball Camp.

With Albany State’s current athletics administration promoting community involvement through volunteer work and the hosting of programs like the National Youth Sports Program, Gayle said the ASU program felt like a good fit.

“The biggest thing that attracted me was the family atmosphere,” Gayle said. “That’s what I’m used to at St. Thomas University, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.

“It’s a great opportunity to come in and get this thing going in the right direction.”

What Gayle’s teams accomplished on the basketball court made him a strong candidate for the type of next-level position that Albany State provides as an NCAA Division II program.

A native of Brooklyn, Gayle spent 13 seasons at St. Thomas, the past six as head coach. He went 125-51 there as a head coach, leading St. Thomas to two regular-season conference titles and four NAIA Division II Tournament appearances.

Last season, St. Thomas went 23-8 and won The Sun Conference regular-season title, with Gayle named the conference’s coach of the year.

“He’s going to bring an upbeat play style to the team,” said Randy McClure, a member of the ASU basketball team who was part of the selection process. “He’s going to get us in situations where we’re going to put a lot of points on the board and hold teams from getting points.

While he believes in creating high-percentage scoring opportunities through up-tempo play and pressure defense, Gayle also is willing to adapt to the personnel he has, with Tim Sada setting a St. Thomas program record for 3-pointers last season.

St. Thomas averaged 82.3 points offensively last season, nearly 15 points more than Albany State’s average.

“I’ve always been more of a coach that wants to get guys efficient shots,” Gayle said. “The past few years, I’ve come to embrace the 3-point shot. You’ve got to keep up with the way the game is going, and you have to be able to shoot the 3, you have to be able to increase your range every season.”

Previously, Gayle served as an assistant at Tiffin University in Ohio and was a high school assistant in Georgia (Creekside) and Florida (Davie Nova), At Creekside, he coached Kevin Murphy, who went on to be a second-round NBA draft pick of the Utah Jazz after playing collegiately at Tennessee Tech.

Gayle, a 2002 Memphis graduate with an MBA from Tiffin, takes over for Michael Moore, who spent four seasons as Albany State’s head coach. The Rams are coming off an 8-21 season.