Men’s basketball will retain special assistant to the head coach and director of scouting Lamont Franklin, moving him to serve as director of player development, according to a press release Tuesday

The release states that Franklin brings high school and collegiate coaching experience and personal knowledge of the DMV as a Virginia native to the coaching staff in addition to a corporate background at Microsoft, where he worked as a solutions specialist from 2011 to 2014. Former men’s basketball Head Coach Jamion Christian hired Franklin last September as a special assistant and director of scouting to assess future opponents, break down game film, lead data analysis for the program, contribute to game strategy and plan practices.

Franklin spent four seasons alongside Head Coach Chris Caputo at the University of Miami starting in 2017 as the director of operations where he oversaw budget management, on-campus recruiting and basketball camps while working as the liaison officer between the program and university. He started his coaching career at the high school level in 2000 before moving up to the NCAA, managing three players drafted to the NBA and two who led the NCAA in three-pointers during his 20-year career.

“Lamont Franklin’s experience as a student-athlete, coach at both the high school and college level and in the corporate world at Microsoft will be invaluable for our student-athletes,” Caputo said in the release. “Lamont brings his DMV Basketball upbringing, time at Miami and knowledge of GW to give our staff a unique view of what success looks like at GW.”

Outside of his career in the corporate world, Franklin logged coaching stints at North Carolina Wilmington, Howard, Mount St. Mary’s, Florida A&M, Towson and the College of Charleston.

“As a DMV native, I am very familiar with the rich tradition of George Washington University and the basketball program,” Franklin said. “I was blessed to return home and join the program last September and look forward to continuing as a member of Coach Caputo’s staff. Having known Coach over the years as assistant coach and working together at Miami prior to my arrival to GW, I’m confident that he’s prepared to take this next step in his career and lead our program.”

The move to retain Franklin comes as Caputo’s third staff move in May. Caputo named former Indiana State coach Zak Boisvert as the fourth assistant men’s basketball coach earlier last month, a week after hiring another assistant coach in Dwayne Lee, who hails from St. Bonaventure.

Boisvert, a former assistant coach at Army West Point, is known for his ability to orchestrate plays on the offensive end of the floor and build talent on the hardwood after developing point guard Tommy Funk during his five years. Funk went on to become one of the program’s all-time great point guards, averaging 17.5 points per game, 728 game assists and making the All-Patriot first and third teams at Army. 

Boisvert also carries experience in A-10 play from his time as a student manager at his alma mater Fordham in 2013.

“I’m humbled to be a part of the George Washington basketball program,” Boisvert said in a release. “It’s an honor to represent such a prestigious academic institution and to be a part of this program’s rich tradition of athletic excellence. I’d like to thank Coach Caputo for this tremendous opportunity.”

Dwayne Lee will join the Colonials staff after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Quinnipiac, where he led the Bobcats with the eighth-highest national defensive field percentage rank and an appearance at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals in the 2020-21 season. Lee has signed four-star recruits like Justin Wiston and Alejandro Vasquez while also holding four NCAA tournaments under his belt.

“I am very honored and excited to be joining such a prestigious university,” Lee said in a release. “George Washington is a great school, and it is located in an unbelievable area. It really doesn’t get any better than that. Coach Caputo is the right guy for the job, and I’m looking forward to working together to build a program that will attract the best student-athletes throughout the region and beyond.”