- Donnie Marsh, Head Coach
- Don Kelbick, Assistant Coach
- Sergio Rouco, Assistant Coach
- Lonnie Williams, Assistant Coach
- Courtney Young, Student Assistant
t
hasn't taken long for FIU head coach Donnie Marsh to begin making
a name for himself in the Division I coaching community. Marsh
was announced as the Golden Panthers' fourth men's basketball
head coach during a press conference on April 26, 2000. He immediately
went to work promoting his program and recruiting, logging more
than 20,000 miles across the United States and the Caribbean.
All that work has begun to pay dividends as the program has experienced
growth since Marsh took over the helm.
 Don Kelbick |
eteran coach Don Kelbick
enters his third season with the Golden Panthers after years
of experience as a head coach both at the college and high school
levels.
Kelbick spent a dozen years as the head coach and an assistant athletic director at Division II Keene State (NH) College. Prior to that, he was an assistant at Longwood (VA) College where his recruits helped the Lancers to the NCAA Division III national semifinals and a No. 4 ranking. He then moved on to gain Division I experience as an assistant coach at Hofstra University and Marist College.
From 1998-2000, Kelbick was head basketball coach at Florida Air Academy, a military prep school in Melbourne, where he posted an impressive 47-7 record.
Kelbick attended and played collegiately at Boston University where he earned respect as a deadly perimeter jump shooter. The New York native, who holds a commercial pilot's license and is a flight instructor, earned his bachelor's degree from BU in 1977 and his master's in 1979.
"We are so pleased to have Don Kelbick on the staff," said head coach Donnie Marsh. "He brings experience, knowledge and contacts to our organization."
Among Kelbick's responsibilities are underclassmen recruiting, camps and clinics, individual player instruction, scouting and game preparation.
 Sergio Rouco |
ssistant
coach Sergio Rouco is in the third year of his second
tour of duty with the Golden Panthers men's basketball program.
The 40-year old Miami native also served under former FIU head
coaches Rich Walker and Bob Weltlich from 1987-91.
From there, Rouco got head coaching experience in the Dominican Republic with Club Mauricio Baez and Club Los Minas and in Venezuela with Club Trotamundos. In 1996-97, he worked as a consultant for head coach Bill Bayno at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Rouco has also coached locally at the high school and amateur levels. In the early '90s, he headed the program at Miami Norland High School. While there, his teams were noted for their intense and aggressive play on the floor as well as for outstanding work in the classroom while being ranked among the top 6A prep teams in the state.
For the three years prior to his return to FIU, Rouco was an associate director at the Boys & Girls Club of Miami. Among his responsibilities there, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of three units and supervised some 30 employees who serviced more than 8,000 youngsters.
At FIU, Rouco is the primary recruiting coordinator, but he will also participate in the day-to-day coaching of the team.
"Sergio is an important component of our recruiting efforts," said head coach Donnie Marsh. "He is so well connected, not only in the state of Florida, but also internationally. He's also a big help to me with his extensive coaching experience and head coaching background."
A 1987 graduate from Nova Southeastern University, Rouco and his wife Kelly have one-year old son, Sergio, Jr.
Lonnie Williams, Assistant Coach
 Lonnie Williams |
onnie
Williams also begins his third season on the Golden Panthers
staff after spending the preceding four years as head coach at
Division I University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
At UMES, Williams' teams showed improvement every year in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference standings. Prior to that, he enjoyed four seasons at Tuskegee (AL) University where he led that program to its best start ever in 1993-94 and finished with an 18-8 record. Not only did his teams top the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in three-point shooting, but he also had a 100-percent graduation rate with 14 senior student-athletes.
In 1982, Williams began his coaching career as an assistant at Whitworth (WA) College, then moved on to Sheridan (WY) Junior College where he had the dual roles of associate head men's basketball coach and head women's coach for three years.
Noted as a program builder, Williams reestablished a team at South Florida CC that had been on a 15-year hiatus and led the Panthers to a 25-5 record and a 1986-87 Sun Coast Conference championship. He then started the men's basketball program at Florida Atlantic University where he stayed for two years. After that, he made stops at California-Davis (1989-90) and North Carolina A&T (1990-92).
"We're excited to have an individual with the experience of Lonnie Williams on our staff," said head coach Donnie Marsh. "He brings head coaching experience along with some terrific recruiting contacts in the Washington-Baltimore area, which is important to us. But more than anything else, he has an air of professionalism about him and he's a great fit for our staff."
Williams competed collegiately at Sheridan JC, then transferred to Northern Montana College where he played the 1978-79 season. He received his bachelor's degree from Eastern Washington in 1980 and later earned a master's degree from the University of Idaho in 1982.
The 44-year old Williams, and his wife Rosemarie, have two children: son Marion Christopher and daughter Lonamarie.
Courtney Young, Student Assistant
 Courtney Young |
ourtney Young returns to the Golden
Panther men's basketball program in his first stint as a collegiate
student assistant coach. Young, an alumnus of FIU, served as
a student manager in 2000-01 and earned a scholarship as head
team manager in 2001-02, while earning his bachelor's degree
in sports management in the spring of 2001.
Although seemingly an apprentice at age 26, Young has already enjoyed several years of coaching success on the local high school and youth levels in South Florida. From 1996-98, he served as the assistant varsity boys' coach at Ransom Everglades High School where the Raiders were ranked as high as second in the state on the 3A level. In the summer of 1998, Young led a squad of middle schoolers to the Hammocks Middle School league championship while the summer of 2002 found him heading a Boys' Club team in a league run by current FIU assistant Sergio Rouco.
As a player, the Miami native starred at Ransom Everglades, ranking fourth in Miami-Dade County with 22 points per contest in 1993-1994. He garnered all-county accolades his junior and senior seasons while competing as a county all-star in 1994. Following high school, Young attended Clark (Mass.) University where he suffered a season-ending injury as a freshman, leading him to direct his efforts to coaching.
Young's responsibilities with the Golden Panther program include administrative work, daily operations and coordinating camps.
Young is currently working on his master's degree in education.
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