Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Jesus Labrada, Michael Burden join coaching staff; Young named administrative assistant

IU men’s head basketball coach Donnie Marsh has filled his assistant coaching vacancies Tuesday with the appointments of Jesus Labrada and Michael Burden to the staff. Marsh also elevated student assistant Courtney Young to the position of administrative assistant.

Labrada has been on the coaching staffs of Leonard Hamilton and Perry Clark at the University of Miami for the past six seasons. He held the position of coordinator of basketball operations handling a myriad of responsibilities including organizing official and unofficial recruiting visits, coordinating opponent scouting and assisting in organizing and conducting preseason individual improvement sessions.

Burden spent the last three years at Cornell where he was the Rams’ recruiting coordinator and was also responsible for overall player skills development. Prior to that, he spent time as an assistant coach at Lafayette College, Rowan University and South Dakota State, helping all three of those programs reach NCAA Tournament play.

“Jesus brings some excellent experiences to our program,” said Marsh. “Having developed into an integral member of a staff that participated in four NCAA Tournaments and an NIT, Jesus will bring that very valuable expertise to FIU and play a major role in the continuing development of our program.

“I spoke with Mike about a job on our staff when I first came to FIU, three years ago. I am happy to be able to add him at this time. Mike has earned some high praise on the recruiting circuit for his tenacity, evaluation and communication skills. He will bring a fresh approach to his duties with our staff,” said Marsh.

Labrada and Burden replace Sergio Rouco and Lonnie Williams who both left the Golden Panthers staff following the 2002-03 season.

Young has risen through the ranks at FIU, starting as a team manager while an undergraduate student in 2000, and then working as a student assistant while completing his master’s degree in sports administration, which he earned earlier this summer.