BECKLEY, West Virginia – James Long, the new head coach of the men's basketball program at WVU Tech, will be welcomed by the campus community on Monday, July 22 at 10:00 a.m. The event will take place in the WVU Tech Learning Commons, located on the second floor of the Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center at 512 South Kanawha Street. Members of the campus community and the public are welcome to attend, but space will be limited.

A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Long was most recently a member of the men's basketball staff for Coach Bob Huggins at West Virginia University. Coach Huggins and several members of the WVU Mountaineers men's basketball team will attend Monday's meet-and-greet in Beckley.

"People will be talking about James Long for years because he is that good. He is one of the rising stars in our business," said Huggins.

Others joined in congratulating Coach Long after the announcement was made on Friday.

ESPN Basketball Analyst Fran Fraschilla said Long "has all the ingredients to be a successful college head coach."

Joel Justus, former head coach at Woodberry Forest School and current assistant coach at the University of Kentucky, shared, "James is a gatherer and will bring passion and leadership to the entire Golden Bear community."

Long graduated from WVU with a bachelor's degree in finance. He played for the Mountaineers from 2014-2017 and is a member of the Academic All-Big 12 Men's Basketball First Team. Long earned spots on the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll and Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.