Jason Shay, survivor from the Bruce Pearl crash and burn at Tennessee, is the new head coach of East Tennessee State basketball.
Jason Shay
He is the replacement for Steve Forbes who recently left the Bucs to become coach at Wake Forest. Shay and Forbes worked together at UT, at Northwest Florida State and for five years in Johnson City.
Their record at Niceville, Fla., was 62-6. Their record at ETSU was 130-43. Forbes recommended Shay for the promotion.
Shay said: “I am humbled, excited and thankful for this opportunity. I understand the expectations and standards that have been built for the men’s basketball program and guarantee I am going to give my very best every day.”
Shay was a Pearl assistant for six years at Tennessee. Before that, he worked for Pearl at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Shay, a native of Galesburg, Ill., was a walk-on at Iowa when Dr. Tom Davis was the coach. He earned a master’s degree from Western Illinois in 1998.
He was an assistant coach at North Dakota and Mercyhurst (Pa.) College in addition to time spent with Forbes.
Shay and his wife, Jana, have a daughter, Peija; and a son, Joah.
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