Tisdale named Interim Men's Basketball Coach
Garden City, KS-Former Junior College basketball standout, Isaiah Tisdale was named the interim Head Men's Basketball Coach at Garden City Community College on Thursday.
Tisdale replaces Rusty Elmore, who resigned on Monday after accepting an assistant coaching position at New Mexico State University.
"I'm incredibly honored to be chosen as the Interim Head Coach at Garden City Community College," Tisdale said in a statement. "I would like to thank Athletic Director, Mike Pilosof, President, Dr. Ryan Ruda, and Vice President, Colin Lamb. I'd also be remiss if I didn't thank Rusty Elmore for giving me the chance to be on his staff."
Tisdale, who was hired as the Associate Head Coach under Elmore, spent last season as the Player Development Coach at his alma mater, East Tennessee State. Prior to that, he spent two years at Wake Forest as a graduate manager.
"Coach Tisdale is someone who Coach Elmore raved about," Pilosof said. "He has a tremendous basketball background and has played at the highest level of Junior College hoops."
Before his coaching career started, Tisdale was a two-time NJCAA All-American at Vincennes University where he was the 15th-ranked Junior College player in the nation. He tallied more than 1,100 career points and 346 assists for the Trailblazers, who went 66-6 during his two seasons. Tisdale was named to the All-NJCAA Tournament team in 2017 where he led Vincennes to the Elite Eight.
"Our staff has been working tirelessly to continue to build on the success of this team," Tisdale added. "We will continue to excel in the classroom, graduate our students, be active on campus and in our community. We will play an exciting, fast-paced style of basketball."
Following his standout career at Vincennes, Tisdale became a two-year starter at East Tennessee State from 2018-20. He started 54 games and averaged nearly nine points and three rebounds per contest. During the 2019-20 campaign, Tisdale helped the Bucs win a school-record 30 games earning SoCon Tournament Most Valuable Player honors along the way.
"Our mission is to make sure we are putting our student-athletes in the best position to succeed," Pilosof explained. "This move made total sense, and the team has already bought into Coach Tisdale."
Tisdale, 26, began his coaching career as an offensive assistant at Wake Forest, working on player development.
The Lexington, KY native earned his associate's degree in general studies at Vincennes, his bachelor's in interdisciplinary studies from ETSU and his master's in liberal arts.