Wichita State basketball staffer Luke Gore leaving to return to coaching at Princeton
Before Paul Mills has had a chance to coach a game for the Wichita State men’s basketball team, his inaugural staff with the Shockers has already had two shake-ups.
The second came on Thursday when the program announced Luke Gore, who was serving as WSU’s director of operations, had departed after three months on the job to accept an assistant coaching position under Mitch Henderson at Princeton for the defending Ivy League champions.
Gore’s departure came a little more than a month after assistant coach Chris Hollender resigned, which led to the quick hiring of T.J. Cleveland. Both defections came with good reasons — Gore can now coach and recruit, which he did for the past 21 years at Valparaiso, while Hollender left to be with his family in a time of need.
“We are grateful for all Luke and his family have done in support of Shocker Basketball these past few months,” Mills said in a statement. “We are happy for the Gore family and wish Luke the very best in this new assistant coaching opportunity.”
It was immediately unclear how Mills plans to fill the vacant role, which is responsible for scouting and day-to-day operations within the program. It is likely he will make an outside hire to replace Gore.
Mills’ coaching staff consists of associate head coach Kenton Paulino and assistants Quincy Acy and Cleveland, while Iain Laymon (director of player development), Ognjen Stranjina (director of recruiting), Xavier Holland (special assistant), Ryan Hillard (chief of staff) and Ashtin Meerpohl (strength and conditioning coach) make up the team’s support staff.
This story was originally published July 27, 2023 at 5:22 PM.
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