Paul Pressey becomes special assistant for St. John’s hoops
NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime NBA player and assistant coach Paul Pressey will be a special assistant to St. John's basketball coach Mike Anderson, his former teammate at Tulsa.
The school also said Friday it has hired Steve DeMeo as an assistant coach. He spent the past six years as coach of Northwest Florida State College.
Anderson, who succeeds Chris Mullin as the Red Storm coach, teamed with Pressey at Tulsa under coach Nolan Richardson. Most recently, Pressey was an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2014-16.
Anderson says Pressey has an "innovative mind for the game, coupled with tremendous experience as both a coach and a player."
Pressey entered the NBA in 1982, playing eight years for the Milwaukee Bucks and two with the San Antonio Spurs. He also had a brief stint with Golden State. He has been an assistant with seven NBA teams. He worked on the staff at San Antonio when the Spurs won their first NBA title in 1999.
The 60-year-old Pressey says he's learned from "some of the great minds in our sport" and aims to help St. John's reach "new heights."
St. John's finished 21-13 last season and lost in a First Four game of the NCAA Tournament.
