Former Dayton assistant coach will return to Grant’s staff

James Kane spent the last three years at Iowa State

James Kane is on back on Dayton Flyers head coach Anthony Grant’s staff as an assistant. The Dayton Daily News first reported the news on Tuesday. UD made the hiring official on Wednesday.

Kane helped recruit Jalen Crutcher to Dayton in the spring of 2017 in his first weeks on the job. He was part of Grant’s first staff in the 2017-18 season.

Kane left after that season to head to Iowa State to work for Steve Prohm, who he also coached under at Murray State. Prohm was fired this March after going 97-95 in six seasons. Iowa State finished 2-22 last season.

Kane will replace Anthony Solomon on Grant’s staff. Solomon is expected to be join Mike Brey’s staff at Notre Dame, though that news also is not yet official.

“We’re excited to announce the addition of James Kane to our coaching staff,” Grant said in a release. “James brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our program. Having served on our inaugural staff here at Dayton and in various roles with me over the past two decades, James also provides a familiarity with our coaches, support staff, and style of play. He is a relentless worker, teacher, & communicator, and excels as a builder of relationships and trust. He compliments our staff extremely well and will transition seamlessly into our culture and identity.”

Kane, a 2005 University of Florida graduate, first met Grant during his junior year in Gainesville when Grant was an assistant coach under Billy Donovan.

After graduating from Florida, Kane worked as an intern in basketball operations and scouting analysis with the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2005-06 season. When Virginia Commonwealth hired Grant in 2006, following Florida’s first national championship season, Kane joined him as a graduate assistant. He moved into a role as video coordinator for the next two seasons.

Kane followed Grant to Alabama in 2009, still working as a video coordinator. In 2011, Murray State’s Prohm hired Kane as assistant coach. Kane spent six seasons with the Racers, the last two under Matt McMahon after Prohm left for Iowa State.

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