St. John's University Athletics
Men's Basketball
Abdelmassih, Matt
Matt Abdelmassih
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- abdelmam@stjohns.edu
- Phone:
- 6224
One of the top young recruiters in the country, St. John’s alumnus and former Red Storm men’s basketball student manager Matt Abdelmassih enters his fourth season as an assistant coach at his alma mater in 2018-19.
Since his arrival in Queens, Abdelmassih has made a considerable impact on the recruiting trail that has put St. John’s back on the national map. The Red Storm will welcome three talented freshmen to campus for the upcoming season in Marcellus Earlington, Josh Roberts, and Greg Williams Jr. along with highly touted junior college transfer LJ Figueroa, who earned All-America honors at Odessa College last season.
Tabbed the top transfer recruiter in the country by ESPN college basketball experts, Abdelmassih has also attracted numerous coveted prospects to St. John’s including Mustapha Heron (Auburn), Eli Wright (Mississippi State), David Caraher (Houston Baptist), Mikey Dixon (Quinnipiac), Sedee Keita (South Carolina), Justin Simon (Arizona), Marvin Clark Jr. (Michigan State), and Tariq Owens (Tennessee). Dixon, the 2017 MAAC Rookie of the Year, and Keita, a member of South Carolina's Final Four squad two seasons ago, will make their Red Storm debuts in 2018-19 after serving an academic year in residency.
In 2016, Abdelmassih helped the Red Storm land a consensus top-25 recruiting class, according to major national recruiting services, which featured highly-rated freshman Shamorie Ponds and one of the top junior college transfers in the country, Bashir Ahmed. Ponds, along with fellow first year Johnnie Marcus LoVett, was part of one of the top freshman scoring duos in the nation in 2016-17. For their efforts, both Ponds and LoVett were unanimously selected to the BIG EAST All-Freshman team.
In his first year at St. John’s, Abdelmassih quickly assembled nearly an entire roster of talented newcomers, including BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honoree Kassoum Yakwe, to serve as the foundation for a program on the rise.
Abdelmassih returned to St. John's after five seasons with Iowa State, where he spent his last four seasons as an assistant to head coach Fred Hoiberg and helped guide the Cyclones to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
An assistant director of operations for Iowa State in 2010-11, Abdelmassih was promoted to assistant coach in April of 2011. In his four seasons as an assistant coach, Iowa State amassed a 99-40 (.712) record, won back-to-back Big 12 Tournament titles (2014, 2015), made four-straight trips to the “Big Dance” (2012-15) and reached one NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 (2014).
Abdelmassih was instrumental in making Iowa State one of the primary destinations for some of the top transfers in the country, including DeAndre Kane and Royce White.
Recruited by Abdelmassih, Kane helped lead a 2013-14 squad that advanced to just the fourth Sweet 16 in program-history and finished with a 28-8 mark that included a school-record nine wins against ranked teams. Kane earned All-America, First Team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year accolades.
Another Abdelmassih recruit, White was the only Division I player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals in 2011-12. White earned All-America honors, was a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 choice and was the 16th overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Prior to his time at Iowa State, Abdelmassih worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Abdelmassih joined the Timberwolves staff in 2008 as a basketball operations intern and worked directly with the coaching staff. Abdelmassih then moved to the front office in 2009-10 with a promotion to basketball operations assistant, a role in which he handled salary cap issues, draft preparation, scouting and free agent analysis.
Abdelmassih was a student manager for the St. John's men's basketball team from 2004-07. During his tenure with the Red Storm, Abdelmassih assisted the director of basketball operations with travel, video and camp responsibilities.
A 2007 graduate of St. John’s, Abdelmassih earned a bachelor's degree in sport management.
Since his arrival in Queens, Abdelmassih has made a considerable impact on the recruiting trail that has put St. John’s back on the national map. The Red Storm will welcome three talented freshmen to campus for the upcoming season in Marcellus Earlington, Josh Roberts, and Greg Williams Jr. along with highly touted junior college transfer LJ Figueroa, who earned All-America honors at Odessa College last season.
Tabbed the top transfer recruiter in the country by ESPN college basketball experts, Abdelmassih has also attracted numerous coveted prospects to St. John’s including Mustapha Heron (Auburn), Eli Wright (Mississippi State), David Caraher (Houston Baptist), Mikey Dixon (Quinnipiac), Sedee Keita (South Carolina), Justin Simon (Arizona), Marvin Clark Jr. (Michigan State), and Tariq Owens (Tennessee). Dixon, the 2017 MAAC Rookie of the Year, and Keita, a member of South Carolina's Final Four squad two seasons ago, will make their Red Storm debuts in 2018-19 after serving an academic year in residency.
In 2016, Abdelmassih helped the Red Storm land a consensus top-25 recruiting class, according to major national recruiting services, which featured highly-rated freshman Shamorie Ponds and one of the top junior college transfers in the country, Bashir Ahmed. Ponds, along with fellow first year Johnnie Marcus LoVett, was part of one of the top freshman scoring duos in the nation in 2016-17. For their efforts, both Ponds and LoVett were unanimously selected to the BIG EAST All-Freshman team.
In his first year at St. John’s, Abdelmassih quickly assembled nearly an entire roster of talented newcomers, including BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honoree Kassoum Yakwe, to serve as the foundation for a program on the rise.
Abdelmassih returned to St. John's after five seasons with Iowa State, where he spent his last four seasons as an assistant to head coach Fred Hoiberg and helped guide the Cyclones to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
An assistant director of operations for Iowa State in 2010-11, Abdelmassih was promoted to assistant coach in April of 2011. In his four seasons as an assistant coach, Iowa State amassed a 99-40 (.712) record, won back-to-back Big 12 Tournament titles (2014, 2015), made four-straight trips to the “Big Dance” (2012-15) and reached one NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 (2014).
Abdelmassih was instrumental in making Iowa State one of the primary destinations for some of the top transfers in the country, including DeAndre Kane and Royce White.
Recruited by Abdelmassih, Kane helped lead a 2013-14 squad that advanced to just the fourth Sweet 16 in program-history and finished with a 28-8 mark that included a school-record nine wins against ranked teams. Kane earned All-America, First Team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year accolades.
Another Abdelmassih recruit, White was the only Division I player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals in 2011-12. White earned All-America honors, was a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 choice and was the 16th overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Prior to his time at Iowa State, Abdelmassih worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Abdelmassih joined the Timberwolves staff in 2008 as a basketball operations intern and worked directly with the coaching staff. Abdelmassih then moved to the front office in 2009-10 with a promotion to basketball operations assistant, a role in which he handled salary cap issues, draft preparation, scouting and free agent analysis.
Abdelmassih was a student manager for the St. John's men's basketball team from 2004-07. During his tenure with the Red Storm, Abdelmassih assisted the director of basketball operations with travel, video and camp responsibilities.
A 2007 graduate of St. John’s, Abdelmassih earned a bachelor's degree in sport management.
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