The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications.
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head men’s basketball coach Steve Prohm announced today that he has promoted Neill Berry to an assistant coach on his staff. Berry replaces T.J. Otzelberger, who left to become head coach at South Dakota State.
Berry, who spent last season as special assistant to the head coach with the Cyclones, has 11 years of experience at the Division I level, including seven years as an assistant coach.
“I’m really excited to promote Neill into an assistant coaching role,” Prohm said. “I told him when I brought him here that if something opened up I would look at him first. He’s a guy that understands what I want on a daily basis. He played for me, and has recruited and coached at this level, so he brings a lot of experience and intangibles to our program that I think will be vital to our success.”
Berry has been an assistant coach at Western Kentucky (2005-08), South Carolina (2009-12) and High Point (2012-15).
At High Point, Berry helped the Panthers earn two division titles and a tie for the Big South title in his three seasons with the school.
Prior to his stint at HPU, Berry was at South Carolina for four seasons, spending the final three as an assistant coach.
USC’s recruiting efforts flourished during Berry’s tenure, with the 2010 class achieving a No. 10 ranking according to Scout.com. In that class, Berry was credited with landing four-star recruit Damontre Harris over offers from Florida and Maryland. Harris was ranked as the No. 40 prospect nationally.
In 2011, Berry was the primary recruiter in landing another four-star and top-100 player, Anthony Gill. Gill transferred to Virginia after a coaching change and went on to earn All-ACC honors. He also helped lure four-star Bruce Ellington to South Carolina, where he earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors on the hardwood and the football field before eventually becoming a fourth-round pick in the NFL Draft.
The Jackson, Mississippi, native also was a staff member at Western Kentucky, serving as a full-time assistant coach in 2007-08 when the Hilltoppers won the Sun Belt Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. While at WKU, Berry coached NBA veterans Courtney Lee and Jeremy Evans.
Berry spent five seasons playing as a combo guard at Southeastern Louisiana under Prohm and then-head coach Billy Kennedy. He was a member of the school’s two most successful teams, which culminated in an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004-05.
