NC State hires Eden native as second assistant coach
RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- N.C. State has hired Takayo Siddle as an assistant basketball coach, Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts announced Tuesday.
It's the second announced hire in two days, as N.C. State added former Virginia Tech head coach James Johnson to the staff Monday.
Siddle, like Johnson, has a long history with Keatts. He played for him at Hargrave Military Academy and was an assistant coach under him at Hargrave as well. He most recently served as an assistant coach under Keatts for all three seasons that Keatts was the head coach at UNC-Wilmington.
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"Takayo is a rising star in this profession with a great enthusiasm for the game," Keatts said in a release Tuesday. "He is a North Carolina native and knows the state very well. This is my third straight head coaching position where I have hired Takayo as a member of my staff. Obviously, I have tremendous respect for his coaching ability and the way he can mold our student-athletes. He is a tremendous addition to our staff."
Siddle was part of a staff that went 72-28 in three years at UNC-Wilmington as the Seahawks advanced to the postseason all three seasons, including two NCAA tournament appearances.
Before working at UNCW, Siddle spent four seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Gardner-Webb. He was hired as an assistant coach at GWU by first-year head coach, and current Butler head coach, Chris Holtmann, an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb during Siddle's freshman and sophomore years as a Bulldog.
He arrived at GWU in 2010 following one season at Hargrave Military Academy, where Keatts was the head coach for 10 seasons.
A native of Eden, North Carolina, Siddle played four seasons for Gardner-Webb from 2005-09, appearing in 114 games. He played in 21 games during his freshman year when GWU upset Minnesota and East Carolina on the road and took defending national champion North Carolina to the final buzzer.
In 2006-07, he started all 30 games for Gardner-Webb as a sophomore and averaged a career-best 8.6 points per game with 104 assists.
As a junior in 2007-08, Siddle played in 32 games and helped Gardner-Webb beat No. 20 Kentucky at Rupp Arena and advance to the final four of the 2007 2K Sports College Hoops Classic in Madison Square Garden.
He was a prep standout for Coach John Harder at Morehead High School in Eden, where he averaged 27.0 points, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
Siddle graduated from Gardner-Webb in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology.
