John Linehan returns for his second season as a member of the Hartford men’s basketball coaching staff in 2018-19. Hired in the summer of 2017, Linehan joined the Hawks as an assistant coach after coaching positions at Brown, Drexel and Temple.
In addition to his coaching career, Linehan was a standout player at Providence College in the early 2000s. He was a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2001, 2002), Bob Cousy Award winner (2002) and NCAA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner (2002) for the Friars. Furthermore, Linehan is the NCAA's all-time career record holder for steals (385).
Linehan spent the 2016-17 season under Mike Martin at Brown, where the Bears finished 37th in the nation and first in the Ivy League with 7.6 steals per game. Steven Spieth, a First Team All-Ivy selection, led the way with his 1.4 steals per contest, while three other players posted more than one swipe per game.
Linehan came to Brown from Drexel, where he was an operations assistant in 2015-16. Prior to that, he worked as a graduate assistant coach at Temple in 2014-15, and as a volunteer assistant for the Delaware 87ers and Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2015. Linehan also has AAU coaching experience, working with Team Phoenix in Greensboro, N.C., and Youth Interlock Society in Chester, Pa.
A professional player from 2002-14, Linehan excelled in the French Pro A League, starting and captaining the SLUC Nancy squad (2006-07 and 2010-13) and the Cholet Basket squad from 2009-10. He was a four-time France Pro A-League Defensive Player of the Year (2005, 2006, 2010, 2011) and was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Estonian Pro A League (2009).
Linehan, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters in 2004, also has experience in the Continental Basketball Association with the Dakota Wizards and with the Greenville Grove of the NBA D-League.
