UT MARTIN MEN’S BASKETBALL ANNOUNCES A PAIR OF GRADUATE MANAGERS TO 2021-22 STAFF
8/20/2021 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – Two graduate managers have joined the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball staff as first-year head coach Ryan Ridder has announced the hiring of Deonte Johnson and Garrett Sams.
Johnson returns to the Skyhawk program after serving as a player development coach in 2020-21. The upcoming campaign will be the sixth season that he has been a part of the UT Martin program as he served as head manager for parts of four seasons under former head coaches Heath Schroyer and Anthony Stewart.
During his Skyhawk tenure, Johnson has been an integral part of staffs who have made three postseason appearances and won a pair of Ohio Valley Conference divisional championships. He aided individual skill workouts and helped in the development of UT Martin's three All-OVC first teamers, six All-OVC second team honorees and five All-OVC Newcomers since 2015.
A Kansas City, Mo. native, Johnson graduated from UT Martin with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2018.
"We are glad to welcome back Deonte to our staff – he knows the ins and outs of how this program operates," Ridder said. "He brings energy to our workouts and practices – our student-athletes have a lot of trust in him."
Returning to his hometown is Sams as the Martin native is fresh off an accomplished four-year playing career at the University of North Florida. Playing under head coach Matthew Driscoll, he helped the Ospreys to a 37-23 ASUN Conference record during his tenure, helping lead the program to a 2019-20 ASUN co-regular season championship.
Sams tallied 1,538 points, 548 rebounds, 226 assists, 121 steals and had 34 blocks over 123 collegiate contests, shooting 38.6 percent (241-of-624) from three-point range and 80.2 percent (357-for-445) from the free throw line. He left as the school's third-leading all-time scorer and ranks first in UNF's Division I Era (since 2005) in free throws made. He was a first team All-ASUN performer as a senior, an All-ASUN Freshman and a two-time ASUN All-Tournament selection (2019, 2018). He was also named to the ASUN All-Decade team for all student-athletes competing from 2010-20.
A four-year standout at Westview High School, Sams graduated from North Florida with a degree in sports management in 2020. Following that, he played professionally for one season for the Paderborn Unibaskets organization in the German Pro A League.
"Garrett has been a great addition to our program," Ridder said. "He is coming off a very successful collegiate and professional playing career and has a passion for this community that is evident every day."
Johnson returns to the Skyhawk program after serving as a player development coach in 2020-21. The upcoming campaign will be the sixth season that he has been a part of the UT Martin program as he served as head manager for parts of four seasons under former head coaches Heath Schroyer and Anthony Stewart.
During his Skyhawk tenure, Johnson has been an integral part of staffs who have made three postseason appearances and won a pair of Ohio Valley Conference divisional championships. He aided individual skill workouts and helped in the development of UT Martin's three All-OVC first teamers, six All-OVC second team honorees and five All-OVC Newcomers since 2015.
A Kansas City, Mo. native, Johnson graduated from UT Martin with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2018.
"We are glad to welcome back Deonte to our staff – he knows the ins and outs of how this program operates," Ridder said. "He brings energy to our workouts and practices – our student-athletes have a lot of trust in him."
Returning to his hometown is Sams as the Martin native is fresh off an accomplished four-year playing career at the University of North Florida. Playing under head coach Matthew Driscoll, he helped the Ospreys to a 37-23 ASUN Conference record during his tenure, helping lead the program to a 2019-20 ASUN co-regular season championship.
Sams tallied 1,538 points, 548 rebounds, 226 assists, 121 steals and had 34 blocks over 123 collegiate contests, shooting 38.6 percent (241-of-624) from three-point range and 80.2 percent (357-for-445) from the free throw line. He left as the school's third-leading all-time scorer and ranks first in UNF's Division I Era (since 2005) in free throws made. He was a first team All-ASUN performer as a senior, an All-ASUN Freshman and a two-time ASUN All-Tournament selection (2019, 2018). He was also named to the ASUN All-Decade team for all student-athletes competing from 2010-20.
A four-year standout at Westview High School, Sams graduated from North Florida with a degree in sports management in 2020. Following that, he played professionally for one season for the Paderborn Unibaskets organization in the German Pro A League.
"Garrett has been a great addition to our program," Ridder said. "He is coming off a very successful collegiate and professional playing career and has a passion for this community that is evident every day."
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