Rob Burke begins his second season at Georgia Southern after spending the previous five seasons as an assistant coach under Chuck Driesell at former Southern Conference rival The Citadel.
The high-energy assistant served as head coach at Spartanburg Methodist College before moving to The Citadel. His teams finished with a record of 112-67 for a .625 winning percentage and averaged 19 wins per season during his six-year run (2004-10).
With a winning record in every season as head coach, Burke’s team reached the 20-win plateau in 2005-06 (22-11) and 2007-08 (24-8). He was named Region 10 Coach of the Year in 2008-09 after returning only two players from the previous season’s squad.
Burke graduated 94 percent of his players from SMC, including Terrence Grier (Charleston Southern), John Anderson (Bethune-Cookman), Brendon Knox (Auburn), Chad Dewitt (Winthrop) and Vernon Taylor (Troy) who moved on to NCAA Division I programs. His work with the Pioneers resulted in four first-team all-region and eight second-team performers.
Knox spent the 2010-11 season playing for the Dakota Wizards of the NBDL, while fellow SMC alum C.J. Jackson played professionally overseas.
Burke also served as an assistant coach at Campbell from 2002-04 and Limestone, including a stint as the junior varsity head coach from 2000-02. Through his affiliation with Ganon Baker Basketball as a pro staff skill development trainer, Burke spent the summer of 2008 at the Nike National Skills Academy.
Burke received a bachelor’s degree in sports management and a minor in business administration from Chowan in 1998. He and his wife, Neily, are the parents of daughters Mina and Marissa.
