Penn State men’s basketball hires former Michigan State assistant Dwayne Stephens
Penn State men’s basketball has hired a new assistant coach — and it’s one of the most well-regarded assistants in the Big Ten.
Dwayne Stephens was hired as an assistant coach by the Nittany Lions Tuesday morning, the program announced, replacing one of the two vacancies on staff left by Joe Crispin, who departed to be Air Force’s head coach, and Jamal Brunt, who left for an assistant job at Syracuse.
“Coach Stephens is one of the most well-respected and accomplished coaches in college basketball,” head coach Mike Rhoades said in a press release. “He brings elite experience from every level of the game — from Final Fours and Big Ten championships, to leading his own program as a head coach. He has recruited and developed some of the best players in the country, and his ability to build genuine relationships and impact winning will elevate every part of our program.”
Stephens was most recently the head coach at Western Michigan, where he went 42-84 over four seasons before being fired in March. But prior to his stint with the Broncos, Stephens was a highly successful assistant coach at Michigan State alongside head coach Tom Izzo for nearly two decades.
He was with the Spartans as an assistant from 2003-2022, with MSU making the NCAA Tournament every season it was held — including three runs to the Final Four. Stephens joined Izzo at Michigan State after four seasons at Marquette that included another Final Four run led by Dwyane Wade in 2003. He began his career as an assistant coach at Oakland, where he spent two seasons from 1997-1999.
Stephens also has a connection to Penn State. His brother, Jarrett, was the program’s first ever consensus All-Big Ten first team selection and played for the program from 1996-2000.
