July 1, 2009

PEGUES, ROOSE ROUND OUT MEN’S BASKETBALL STAFF

RICHMOND, Va. – Behind many successful basketball programs are people who are crucial to the program, but may not get much time in the spotlight.

Virginia Commonwealth University men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart added two of those type of people recently with the addition of Daniel Roose as the Strength and Conditioning Coach and Mike Pegues as the Video Coordinator.

“We’re thrilled about adding Daniel and Mike to our staff,” Smart commented. “Both are high energy individuals with terrific backgrounds and exceptional people skills. They are already making a different with our team.”

Roose comes to VCU after two years at UNC Pembroke, where he was in charge of the strength and conditioning of all 16 athletic programs for the Braves.

“Daniel Is a fantastic motivator who possesses a great skill in working with our guys,” Smart added. “His knowledge in and around the weight room is outstanding and he’ll have us ready to play our style of play when we get into our preseason workouts.”

Prior to UNC Pembroke, Roose was the director of strength and conditioning at Marshall University where he worked directly with the basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball programs, but was in charge of designing training programs for all 15 varsity sports for the Thundering Herd

In addition to Marshall, he also spent a year at Campbell University, serving as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Camels.

Nationally certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Roose has also been tabbed as a Level 1 coach by the United States Weightlifting Association.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Appalachian State in 2001 and later earned his master’s degree in exercise physiology from Marshall in 2006.

Pegues is very familiar to at least one Colonial Athletic Association school, as the Forestville, Md., native still reigns as the all-time leading scorer at the University of Delaware.

“Mike possesses an extremely bright future as a coach and I feel very fortunate to bring him into our basketball family,” Smart stated. “As a player, he was very talented and still overachieved. I see no reason why he won’t do the same as a member of our staff.”

The soft-shooting forward tallied 2,030 points during his four seasons at Delaware (1996-2000). He earned First-Team All-America East honors during his final three seasons with the Fightin’ Blue Hens, and was named Player of the Year as a senior.

He helped lead the Fightin’ Blue Hens to three consecutive postseason berths, including two NCAA Tournament appearances (1998, 1999).

An Academic All-America selection as a senior, Pegues went on to play professionally in Italy, New Zealand, England, Argentina and one year in the Continental Basketball Association.