The University of Texas has officially announced the addition of now-former Iowa State assistant coach Neill Berry to its basketball staff. Berry spent three seasons with the Cyclones before joining Shaka Smart’s staff in Austin.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Smart’s staff at Texas,” Berry said in a press release. “I have always had tremendous respect for Coach Smart from afar, and I am excited about the opportunity to learn from him and help out in any way possible moving forward. I have loved my time working for Coach Prohm at Iowa State and have learned so much from him, both on and off the floor. He has been an unbelievable mentor in my life. It was going to take a special opportunity to leave Iowa State, and I believe Texas is this opportunity. It is an amazing university in a great location with tremendous tradition and support. My family and I are very excited to get to Austin.”
Berry joined Iowa State’s staff as a special assistant to the head coach when Steve Prohm took over the program in 2015. He was elevated to assistant coach entering the 2016-17 season in which the Cyclones advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and won the Big 12 tournament title.
Berry was the lead recruiter for Lindell Wigginton and Tyrese Haliburton.
“Neill is a name that kept coming up as I talked to people about who were really good assistant coaches with a strong track record, and guys who were well-rounded with the ability to recruit, coach and relate to players,” Smart said in the release. “One thing I value greatly about Neill is he will be a tremendous addition in terms of staff chemistry. Everyone that we’ve talked to about him has said he has no ego and is a team player. The fact that Neill has experience at this level and in this league is a real positive. He’s recruited quite a few guys who have turned out to be much better players than the so-called experts thought they would be. Developing young men is clearly a strength of Neill’s, which is a top priority in our program as well.”
Berry’s departure leaves Prohm with one open spot on his staff entering the summer. Stay tuned to Cyclone Fanatic in the coming weeks for developments on this story.
