Bio

The 2020-21 season will mark the second for Ernest Shand as an Assistant Coach and first as Recruiting Coordinator for the Graceland University Yellowjacket Men's Basketball program.

At Albany State University (ASU)

Coach Shand resides in Lamoni after a brief stint in Albany, GA where he coached at Albany State University (NCAA DII). In his role at Albany St., he assisted in the daily operations of the Golden Rams program and was specifically responsible for on-court/in-game coaching, opponent scouting along with recruiting and player skill development.

His efforts helped lead the Golden Rams to a 12-5 regular season conference record; good enough for a second place finish in the East Division of the SIAC – the program's best since 2012-13. Their 14 wins overall are the most since 2013-14. The Golden Rams season concluded in the SIAC final four where Shand coached two All-conference players – their best finish since 2007.

At Mesa Community College (MCC)

He worked alongside Arizona coaching legend Sam Ballard and helped lead MCC to an overall record of 68-50 while going 52-36 in the ACCAC during his tenure. ‘Mesa’ earned a post-season berth each year including two conference championship game appearances – earning a runner-up finish in 2014-15.

As the Recruiting Coordinator, before departing for Albany St., he recruited/signed 9 student-athletes from across the country – along with 2 International players. During his career at MCC, he coached 19 student-athletes who went on to four-year schools, 7 All-Conference players and 1 NJCAA All-American; many of whom went on to become Professional players overseas.

Prior Coaching Experience

In 2001-02, while at Genesee Community College, Coach Shand completed a Coaching Internship where he assisted in day-to-day basketball operations as well as on-court coaching and coordinating on-campus recruiting visits for the school's first-ever NJCAA Div. II, Region III, District 18 Championship team. Going 28-5 that season, they were also the institution's first-ever NJCAA Div. II Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament participant finishing sixth in the nation.

Coach Shand then attended the SUNY Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) where he was a Student Assistant while gaining his first experience in recruiting at the NCAA DIII level. He was later hired as an Assistant Coach where the 2005-06 Wildcats were among the school's most successful ever – earning their first-ever post-season victory along the way to the school's first-ever SUNYAC Championship game appearance. Coach Shand was responsible for creating opponent scouting reports and helped assemble one of the programs' strongest recruiting classes that year; most notably, he recruited the university's all-time leader in steals and assists in a season & career.

In 2007, Coach Shand was named the Boys Varsity Basketball Head Coach at Salt River HS in Scottsdale, Arizona. He became the winningest boys' basketball coach at Salt River and then again at Horizon Honors HS in Ahwatukee/Phoenix, AZ. His 2011-12 team tied the school record with 19 wins in a season and posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in school history. By the end of 2014-15, he captured win number 100 overall in his Head Coach career.

The Personal Side

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY on June 28, 1979 – Coach Shand has an Associate of Art degree in Liberal Arts from Genesee Community College (2002), graduated from SUNYIT with a Bachelor of Art degree in Sociology (2004) and earned a Master of Education degree from Northern Arizona University (2007) in Educational Leadership. His children – Sydney (12) & Malachy (9, pronounced Mal-a-kai) reside in Arizona.

Pictured: Coach Shand, his daughter Sydney and son Malachy.

(Photo Credit: Brady McMains)