GET TO KNOW MARK DANNHOFF
Coach Mark Dannhoff has 28 years of basketball experience under his wing. He has been an assistant on eight Division I collegiate coaching staffs, including Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Georgia State, and Tulane. Dannhoff is a motivated and experienced “Program Builder” with a history of successfully revitalizing and building basketball programs as a head and assistant coach, doing so with integrity, class, and a championship vision. He possesses a high level of competitiveness, dedication and commitment to success.
Dannhoff has coached 53 players who have moved on to play at the professional level, including two players in the NBA (Linton Johnson and Sam Dekker) and four in the NBA Developmental League (Including RaShawn Thomas, John Jordan and Bronson Koenig). In addition, he serves as a member of the NABC DI Assistant Coaches Committee representing the Southland Conference. Since coming to Corpus Christi, Danhoff served as the lead recruiter for some of the top players in the conference including Ehab Amin, Jordan, Jake Kocher, Zane Knowles, Kareem South, Tony Lewis, Irshaad Hunte and Jake Babic.
Bronson Koenig of the Detroit Pistons Organization: “Coach Dannhoff was the best coach I ever had. He’s a high character guy who relates so well to his players.”
Dannhoff has spent the past eight years as the assistant coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and served as the interim coach during the coaching transition following his 1st year. During his time on the Island, Mark helped to rebuild the culture and success of the program. In 2016-17, the Islanders received their fourth straight postseason invitation including a trip to the CIT Championship game. Over the last four years, the Islanders have won 87 games, had three-straight 20+ win seasons, had three 2nd and one 3rd place finish, played in back-to-back conference championships and recorded their only postseason victories in school history.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Head Coach Willis Wilson: “Mark is an excellent college basketball coach. He is outstanding at the X’s and O’s portion of the game when it comes to strategy and game planning, and he is an even better teacher and communicator. Mark has proven to be a thorough administrator and recruiter over the course of his career.”
Prior to joining the Islanders staff, Dannhoff spent a year each at Texas-Pan American and Mercer as well as two years with the Panthers at Georgia State University. Before joining the Panther staff, Dannhoff was an assistant coach at Tulane University for four seasons under Head Coach Shawn Finney, who left to return to the University of Kentucky, as the entire Tulane staff changed in the summer of 2005.
Finney: “Mark is an excellent X and O coach and has an outstanding feel for the game. He can recruit nationally, and knows and can identify talent. I have always been impressed with his ability to teach the game and how well he communicates with players. Mark is ready to be a head coach again.”
In 2000-01, Mark was on the staff of the University of New Orleans Privateers team led by Head Coach Joey Stiebing, the 2001 Sun Belt Coach of the Year. That squad finished 17-12 and was second in the Western Division of the Sun Belt Conference.
Stiebing: “Mark is a tireless worker and very knowledgeable about the game. He is usually the first in the office and the last to leave.”
Mark spent the previous season with Centenary under Head Coach Kevin Johnson with one marquee upset win over Texas A&M on the road. One of the Centenary players was Ronnie McCollum, who led the nation in scoring the next year.
McCollum: “Coach Dannhoff has a great understanding of the game. He has the ability to communicate with the players on their level to make everyone understand. If I were still in high school today, I’d go play for Coach Dannhoff.”
While he was at UALR in 1998-99, Dannhoff was on the staff of with legendary coach “Wimp” Sanderson with that Sun Belt squad.
Sanderson: “Mark brought a wealth of coaching experience to my staff. He has an excellent knowledge of the game and will make an outstanding head coach. I could not have made a better choice when hiring Mark.”
Dannhoff had spent the previous year with Arkansas Tech under Head Coach Marty Barnes in Russellville, Ark. Barnes was the second winningest coach in the state of Arkansas, behind Nolan Richardson, at that time. Dannhoff was the recruiting coordinator and was in charge of the team’s defense as an assistant coach.
Dannhoff gained valuable experience for five seasons as the head coach at Northland (Minn.) Community College and employed an up-tempo style of play. He guided the team to a Division Championship and a MCCC Regional Tournament berth. The 1996 team won the Northern Division championship and ranked No. 2 in the state and in Region XIII.
A graduate of Division III Wisconsin-La Crosse, Dannhoff first began as an assistant coach at his alma mater, where he earned his master’s degree in education with an emphasis on physical education and athletic administration. His basketball knowledge has also been used in multiple articles in Scholastic Coach Magazine and two player developments books found on Hoopscooponline.com.
Like most coaches, Dannhoff has focused on academic progress. He is also prepared to handle budget planning, recruiting, team travel, video breakdown, game plan preparation, and all the necessary requirements of a coach. He is also quite experienced in directing summer basketball camps.
Dannhoff was a basketball player and lettered as a freshman in college at Wisconsin-La Crosse before sustaining a career-ending ankle injury.
Dannhoff played high school ball at La Crosse Central and made the Final Four out of more than 300 schools in the state’s largest division. Dannhoff was a starting guard on a team that finished 17-8 his senior season. Ken Barrett, his high school coach, was inducted into the Wisconsin State Hall of Fame in 2005.
Personal:
Dannhoff was born on Sept. 7, 1967, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to Richard and Mary Dannhoff, who still reside in La Crosse. Mark has two brothers, Darren and Steve, both younger. Darren is a senior social worker for the County of La Crosse and Steve is head of the Physical Education Department at Carroll University (Wis.).
Coaching Experience:
1990-92 Asst. Coach, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
1992-97 Head Coach, Northland (Minn.) Community College
1997-98 Asst. Coach, Arkansas Tech University
1998-99 Director of Operations, University of Arkansas-Little Rock
1999-00 Asst. Coach, Centenary College
2000-01 Asst. Coach/DOB, University of New Orleans
2001-05 Asst. Coach/ DOB, Tulane University
2005-07 Asst. Coach, Georgia State University
2007-08 Asst. Coach, Mercer University
2008-09 Interim Head Coach during transition/Asst. Coach, University of Texas-Pan American
2010-pres. Asst./Interim Head Coach during transition, Texas A&M Univ.-Corpus Christi
Tournament Experience:
1996 Region XIII NJCAA
2014 College Insider Tournament (2nd Round)
2015 College Insider Tournament (2nd Round)
2016 College Insider Tournament
2017 College Insider Tournament (Championship Finalist)
“Mark makes an excellent head or assistant coach because he loves the game and is a student of basketball. He has strong leadership abilities. His experience as a high-level college assistant coach will give him instant credibility with the young men he coaches. Mark evaluates talent better than most. He has a knack for uncovering hidden gems and developing great relationships with the young men he recruits. Mark cares about his players and wants them to succeed on the court, in the classroom, and ultimately in life. The best compliment I can give him or any other coach is that I would want my son to play for him.”
Tony Bennett, University of Virginia
“Coach Dannhoff is not just my coach, he’s family. I cannot begin to tell you all the things he taught me on & off the court over the last 4 years I know Coach D will always be there for me professionally and personally. I could not have asked for a better coach, mentor and friend. When he becomes a head coach again, his players are going to be blessed to have him as their coach.“
Johnathan Jordan
Former Player, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
COACH DANNHOFF'S WEBSITE
