Tommy Named Director of Player Development

Nebraska men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg announced the hiring of Emmanuel Tommy as Director of Player Development for the Husker basketball program. In his role, Tommy will assist with the day-to-day operation of the Husker program and help develop programming for basketball student athletes. Tommy will also help with on-campus recruiting.

“We are pleased to welcome Emmanuel to our basketball staff,” Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He has experience in both the administrative and coaching sides of basketball and understands what it takes to connect with people, a trait which is essential for this role. In getting to know him through this process, he is a high-energy, positive person who wants to help people be successful on and off the court. He is a good fit for our program, and we welcome Emmanuel and his family to Lincoln.”

Tommy comes to Nebraska from Alabama A&M, where he served as an assistant coach this past season. He helped the Bulldogs jump from four conference wins to an 10-8 mark and a fifth-place finish in 2021-22. Tommy assisted in the development of Jalen Johnson, who earned first-team All-SWAC honors in 2022 averaging 16.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Prior to joining the Bulldogs’ staff, he worked on the administrative side in the Division I ranks at both McNeese State (2020-21) and South Alabama (2019-20). At McNeese, he was the Director of Basketball Operations, where he was responsible for daily operations, including road trip logistics, while assisting in opponent scouting and player personnel reports and overseeing the academic component of the program. At South Alabama, he served as the director of recruiting and assistant director of operations where he coordinated official and unofficial recruit visits and had a hand in scouting and player personnel reports and travel operations. He helped South Alabama recruit the best class in the Sun Belt Conference while helping USA going 20-11, the first 20-win season for the program since 2008-09. While at South Alabama, he worked with current NU assistant Adam Howard.

Before moving up to the Division I level, Tommy worked at the high school, junior college and Division III ranks. In 2018-19, he was an assistant at Centre College, helping the Division III program to a 23-8 record and a Southern Athletic Association regular-season title in 2019. He was an assistant at Goodwin Heights (Mich.) High School for six seasons, as the program went 158-12 in that time, winning seven conference, five district and four regional titles in addition to a 2015 Michigan Class B State Championship. While there he coached four AP and six Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) All-State selections, 20 all-conference honorees and a pair of Grand Rapids area Player of the Year choices. He also served a year as an assistant at Grand Rapids Community College, helping the school to an 18-11 and a Region VIIII Championship Game in 2014-15. 

Tommy began his coaching career at Western Michigan as a graduate assistant and was part of back-to-back Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division Champions in 2007-08 and 2008-09. While there he was responsible for day-to-day operations, assisting with on-court workouts, practices, scouting and video. He also helped in the development of future MAC Player of the Decade David Kool.

Tommy also worked with several high-profile high school camps, including the John Calipari Basketball Camp (2017-18) and John Thompson III Basketball Camp (2016). Additionally, he worked at the AAU level with the Grand Rapid Storm (Mich.) from 2010-14 and had the opportunity to coach players such as current Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker.

Tommy earned his undergraduate degree in public relations in 2008 from Western Michigan and his master’s in physical education & sports studies from WMU in 2010. He and wife, Rachel, have a son, Jethro.