Rutgers Head Men’s Basketball Coach Fred Hill announced the hiring of Danny Nee as Director of Player Development and Oliver Winterbone as Director of Basketball Operations. Hill also announced that Dennis Gregory, formerly the Director of Basketball Operations, will now serve as Senior Director of Basketball Operations and that Matt Bloom, previously a special assistant, will be Basketball Operations Coordinator.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Nee most recently worked as a scout for the NBA’s Utah Jazz. He arrives “On The Banks” with 410 career wins in 26 seasons as a Division I head coach. Best known for revitalizing the programs at Ohio (1980-81 to 1985-86) and Nebraska (1986-87 to 1999-00), he also served as head coach at Robert Morris (2000-01) and Duquesne (2001-02 to 2005-06). A two-time MAC Coach of the Year, he led the Bobcats to three post-season appearances before moving on to Lincoln, where he became the Cornhuskers all-time winningest coach with a 254-189 record. Nebraska advanced to the postseason 11 times under his leadership, including five NCAA tournaments and an NIT championship in 1996.
Nee was a teammate of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) at New York’s Power Memorial High School before becoming a member of the late Al McGuire’s first recruiting class at Marquette. He captained the Warrior’s freshman team before serving a two-year tour of duty in United State Marine Corps. He received Combat Air Insignia Medals and an honorable discharge in 1968 after serving in Vietnam. Nee completed his collegiate playing career at St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City, Kan., where he received a degree in English and Physical Education in 1971. He earned a master’s degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from Kansas State in 1972. Nee began his coaching career in the Garden State, directing Red Bank Regional (1972-73) and Brick Township (1973-76) High Schools before serving as an assistant coach at Notre Dame (1976-77 to 1979-80) under Digger Phelps.
“Danny is an individual of tremendous character who brings a wealth of experience to our program,” said Hill. “His perspective will be invaluable in the mentoring of our young men.”
A native of Fair Haven, N.J. and a Rutgers graduate, Winterbone spent the past three seasons as Assistant Director of Basketball Operation/Video Coordinator at the University of Virginia under head coach Dave Leitao. He managed the Cavalier’s video library and assisted with scouting, travel, camps and community service initiatives. The Cavaliers won the ACC regular season title in 2006-07 and advanced to the NCAA tournament. In the summer of 2007, Winterbone was on the staff for Team USA’s U19 World Championship squad for trials and training camp. The team won a gold medal at the Global Games in Dallas, Texas, and finished with the silver medal at the 2007 U19 World Championship competition in Serbia.
Winterbone earned his bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics from Rutgers in May of 2005. During his tenure in Piscataway, he served as head men’s basketball manager for three seasons.
“Oliver is a ‘Jersey guy’ with a passion for Rutgers basketball,” said Hill. “His experience in video and day-to-day operations will be a great asset to our program.”
The Scarlet Knights begin preseason practice on Friday, October 17.
