Eddie ShannonUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach Lamont Paris has filled the vacancy on his staff by hiring former UTC assistant Eddie Shannon, the school announced Wednesday.
Shannon replaces Walter Offutt, who left the Mocs after two seasons to become an assistant at Toledo, according to a UTC release. Shannon was director of basketball operations in 2015-16 for Matt McCall, UTC's men's basketball coach at the time, and took on his first Division I coaching job when he became a full-time assistant the following season.
"One thing I was looking for specifically, if I could, was hire someone I knew for a long time or had worked with guys I knew for a long time," Paris in the release. "That, in conjunction with real familiarity with our region in recruiting. I felt like it was important to get someone with some real roots in the South.
"Eddie fit the bill on both of those ends. Above all else, he's a high-character, hard-working person. An added bonus is he knows Chattanooga and the Southern Conference and the challenges we face here."
Shannon spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Canisius. He was a four-year starter at Florida under Billy Donovan, scoring 1,168 points and averaging 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals. His collegiate career was followed by a 10-year professional run in Europe and Australia.
"He played at a high level," Paris said in the release, "and that will resonate with our guys, especially the point guards with whom I'll give him a lot of responsibility."