Jonathan Tsipis Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: North Carolina '96

Jonathan Tsipis is preparing to start his fifth year as an assistant coach at Notre Dame. Since joining Muffet McGraw's staff in May 2003, Tsipis (pronounced SIP-iss) has worked primarily with the Irish wings, while also coordinating Notre Dame's nationally-ranked recruiting efforts, and aiding with scouting and practice planning. In addition, he oversees all equipment and apparel needs for the Irish.

"Jonathan really understands the game from all angles and does a tremendous job of passing that knowledge on to our team," McGraw said. "He's a great teacher who stresses the fundamentals above everything else. His scouting reports and game preparation skills are also excellent, and he's very poised and confident under pressure, which are all qualities that our players respond well to."

In his four seasons with the Irish, Tsipis has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the nation's top young assistants, thanks in large part to his uncanny success with player development. He had a hand in guiding forward Jacqueline Batteast to the most productive years of her career (2003-04 and 2004-05), averaging 16.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while twice earning All-America honors, including a spot on the prestigious 10-player Kodak/WBCA All-America Team and third-team laurels from the Associated Press in 2004-05. Batteast also was the '04-05 BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year and a two-time first-team all-conference pick. Following her brilliant college career, Batteast was chosen by the Minnesota Lynx in the second round of the '05 WNBA Draft, and won a WNBA title with the Detroit Shock in 2006.

In 2005-06, Tsipis helped freshman guard Lindsay Schrader to one of the best rookie seasons in school history, averaging 10.5 points and a team-high 5.4 rebounds per game. She also became the second Irish women's basketball player (and first in 26 years) to start her career with a double-double, and ended her first year under the Golden Dome with a career-high 29-point outburst against Boston College in the NCAA Tournament (one of the 10 highest single-game scoring efforts of the '06 NCAA Tournament).

This past season, Tsipis expertly tutored junior guard Charel Allen to WBCA honorable mention All-America status, as well as a first-team all-BIG EAST selection. Allen doubled her scoring average from the previous year to a career-best 17.0 points per game (seventh in the BIG EAST) and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. In addition, Allen ranked second in the conference in scoring during BIG EAST play (19.3 ppg.), scored in double figures 29 times in 32 games (including each of her final 12 outings), and became the first Notre Dame player in a decade to score at least 25 points in three consecutive games. Allen went on to be named one of 14 finalists for the 2007 USA U21 World Championship Team.

Tsipis also possesses one of the bright young strategical minds in the game. He has been responsible for building the game plans in seven of Notre Dame's wins over nationally-ranked opponents during the past three seasons, including victories in 2004-05 at Connecticut (breaking the Huskies' 112-game home win streak in regular-season league games), vs. Duke (in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT) and vs. Rutgers (one of the Scarlet Knights' two conference losses).

Tsipis came to Notre Dame following one season as the director of men's basketball operations at UNC Greensboro, working for former Irish assistant men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery (who now is the head men's basketball coach at Siena).

Prior to arriving at UNC Greensboro, Tsipis spent two seasons as an assistant men's coach at Elon (N.C.) University. While there, he worked primarily with the Phoenix's perimeter players and also helped coordinate the team's scouting and recruiting efforts. In addition, he was responsible for organizing the team's travel plans and off-season workout programs.

Tsipis came to Elon after one year as the top men's assistant coach at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. He also spent three seasons on the men's basketball staff at Cornell University (one as a full-time assistant, two as a volunteer aide), and one year on the men's basketball staff at Duke. In the latter role, he served under legendary Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

In addition to his coaching duties, Tsipis also serves as the president of the Future Hoopsters Basketball Camp which he founded in 1991. The camp is divided into two one-week sessions and focuses on specialized individual instruction. He also worked at the Basketball Camp USA in Letahoria, Greece, in July of 2001. There, Tsipis worked clinics for top-ranked junior players from Greece and Macedonia, focusing on perimeter and ball handling skills.

Tsipis comes from a family with a deep basketball background. His father, Lou, played for the Greek National Team at age 15, had a standout career at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, and later played professionally in Greece. A member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1987; lifetime member as an official) and Hellenic Sports Hall of Fame (1997), Lou also coached at the high school and collegiate levels for more than 20 years. Tsipis' brother, Dean, played at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and his sister, LuAnn Damiris, was a three-sport letterwinner at Baldwin-Wallace.

Born Nov. 7, 1972 in Cleveland, Tsipis graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996 with a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy. He and his wife, Leigh, are the proud parents of two children - two-year-old daughter Emily and infant son Joshua. The Tsipis family resides in South Bend.