Former Iowa basketball standout and recent Hawkeye assistant coach Matt Gatens is reportedly set for a new gig in the SEC.
According to Justin Hokanson of Auburn Live win On3, Gatens is joining Bruce Pearl’s staff at Auburn as the Tigers’ general manager. Gatens would help oversee and influence transfer portal recruiting, high school recruiting, NIL requirements, scouting and roster strategy.
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Gatens’ ties to Bruce Pearl and the Auburn program date back to his work as a graduate assistant with Auburn during the 2017-18 season when the Tigers won the SEC championship. Gatens’ father, Mike Gatens, was a close friend of Pearl during Pearl’s time as an assistant at Iowa from 1986-1992.
The 35-year-old spent each of the past three seasons as an assistant coach on Fran McCaffery’s staff. But, after McCaffery’s dismissal, Gatens was not retained on staff by new Iowa head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum.
Prior to his three seasons as an assistant coach in Iowa City, Gatens spent four seasons on Drake’s coaching staff. Gatens served as director of operations his first two years at Drake before being elevated to an assistant coach in his last two seasons.
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The former Iowa Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Iowa City High School, Gatens was a four-year starter for the Hawkeyes from 2009-12. His final two seasons were McCaffery’s first two as Iowa’s head coach. During Gatens’ senior season, Iowa advanced to the NIT for its first postseason appearance under McCaffery and for its first postseason appearance in six seasons.
Gatens was a two-time All-Big Ten selection, two-time team captain, two-time academic all-conference honoree, recipient of the 2012 Chris Street Award, and voted to the 2009 Big Ten All-Freshman team. Gatens amassed 1,635 points and 239 3-pointers ranking 10th and third, respectively, in Iowa history. In 128 career games, he averaged 12.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Former Iowa basketball assistant reportedly lands new role in SEC
