Rod Balanis Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Georgia Tech '93

Rod Balanis begins his eighth season as a member of the Notre Dame men's basketball program and fourth as an assistant coach. He was promoted to assistant coach in May of 2003 after serving for three years as the coordinator of men's basketball operations. He works primarily with the Irish guards.

This is Balanis' second stint as an assistant coach at the collegiate level. Prior to coming to Notre Dame at the start of the 2000-01 campaign, he spent four years as an assistant coach at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.

Last season, Balanis helped mentor Irish guards Kyle McAlarney and Tory Jackson. Jackson finished the season as the BIG EAST Conference assist leader at 6.0 assists per game also was named to the league's all-rookie team.

Notre Dame finished the 2006-07 campaign with a final 24-8 record and 11-5 mark in BIG EAST play. The 24 victories equaled the most for an Irish team, while the 11-5 conference mark matched the best for an Irish team since joining the BIG EAST in 1995-96. Notre Dame also received an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

In his first season at Colgate, Balanis he had the opportunity to coach and work with Adonal Foyle, a seven-year member of the NBA's Golden State Warriors. Foyle, the eighth overall pick in the '97 NBA Draft, finished his career as the NCAA's all-time career shot-blocking leader.

Balanis played at Georgia Tech for Bobby Cremins from 1990-94, enrolling at the Atlanta, Georgia school in the fall of 1989. He was red-shirted his freshman season (1989-90) after sustaining injuries in a car accident prior to attending Georgia Tech.

Balanis was part of teams which made four trips to the NCAA tournament and appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) once. The Ramblin' Wreck reached the Sweet 16 twice in that five-year span and earned a berth in the '90 Final Four held that year in Denver, Colo.

Off the court, the Williamsburg, Va., native excelled in the classroom, earning Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll recognition. The Boy Scouts of America also honored him for his outstanding character and citizenship when he was named "Peach of an Athlete" in '93.

Following graduation, Balanis went to Greece, where he played professionally for Aris Thessoliniki of the Greek First Division during the 1994-95 season. He then became a sales representative for the Riddell Corporation in the Washington-Baltimore area prior to beginning his first coaching stint at Colgate.

Balanis graduated from DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., in 1988 after an outstanding prep career playing for legendary coach Morgan Wootten. Irish head coach Mike Brey was an assistant at DeMatha at the time Balanis was attending the school. He helped the Stags to an 84-16 record and nine tournament titles during the course of his four seasons. He also set the school's single-game assist mark when he had 14 in one game.

In Balanis' senior year, DeMatha finished 30-3 and was ranked as the top prep team in the Washington, D.C. area by the Washington Post and fifth nationally by USA Today. Balanis was that team's second-leading scorer, averaging 11.3 points per game. The highlight, of the '87-'88 season was when DeMatha defeated No. 1 ranked Archbishop Molloy (N.Y.) High School, 68-66, as Balanis out-dueled the Stanners' Kenny Anderson down the stretch. Balanis and Anderson would later become teammates at Georgia Tech. In the classroom at DeMatha, Balanis had a 4.0 grade point average, graduating fifth in his class.

Balanis hails from a family with coaching roots at the collegiate level as his father, George, was the head basketball coach at William & Mary from 1974-77.

Born March 21, 1970, Balanis graduated with honors from Georgia Tech with a bachelor's degree in management. He and his wife, the former Liz Barker, were married in August of 2002. She was the assistant women's tennis coach at Notre Dame for six years and now serves as a volunteer assistant with the program. Currently a teaching professional at the South Bend Racquet Club, Liz was a standout player at Wake Forest. In 2002, she was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Women's Tennis team as one of the top players in conference history. The couple has a son, Andrew George, born in May of 2005, and are expecting their second child sometime in December of 2007.