LeBron James fired up over ex-Cavaliers staffer Dan Geriot's Iona college coaching gig

Former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Dan Geriot was named Iona University's men's basketball head coach on Thursday. Shortly after, ex-Cavaliers superstar forward LeBron James commended Geriot on his hiring.

Geriot's appointment comes after 10 seasons in professional basketball with Cleveland, its NBA G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, and the New Orleans Pelicans.

After a four-year stint as a college basketball assistant with Princeton and Campbell (2011-2015), Geriot spent three years as the Cavaliers' video coordinator (2015-2018). That overlapped with James' second stint with the franchise (2014-2018).

Geriot later served as an assistant with Cleveland from 2018 to 2021 and 2022 to 2024, and as head coach of the Charge during the 2021-22 campaign. Most recently, he worked as an assistant with New Orleans this season, leading up to his transition back to college basketball.

While nearly seven years have elapsed since Dan Geriot and James' time with Cleveland together, the four-time MVP, now an LA Laker, hasn't forgotten Geriot.

James swiftly took to X/Twitter on Thursday and congratulated the up-and-comer for working his way up the coaching ranks.

"HELL, YEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH, BIG DAN!!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS, BROTHER!!!" James wrote, followed by a series of raising hands and fire emojis.

Geriot becomes Iona's 16th coach, replacing Tobin Anderson, who was fired three days earlier after two seasons on the job. The fourth-seeded Anderson-led Gaels finished 17-17 this season, falling 63-49 to sixth-seeded Mount. St. Mary's in Saturday's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game.

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Dan Geriot moves on from injury-plagued Pelicans season with Iona hiring

By taking over at Iona, Dan Geriot leaves behind a challenging season with New Orleans.

After entering the campaign with playoff aspirations, the Pelicans were ravaged by injuries. They lost key players Dejounte Murray (Achilles), Herbert Jones (shoulder) and Trey Murphy III (shoulder) to season-ending injuries.

Amid their continued setbacks, they possess the NBA's fourth-worst record (19-51), with their future direction in question.

Instead, Geriot pivots to a competitive Gaels program, aiming to lead the school to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2023 next season.

"I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to get to work," Geriot said on Thursday.

"Iona has a strong basketball tradition and history of success, and I look forward to being part of it. Our goal is to build a team that plays hard, competes at the highest level and makes our fans proud. I can't wait to get started."

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