Josh Chavis Returns to Upstate as Assistant Coach
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate men’s basketball program reunited with one of its own on Monday when head coach Eddie Payne announced that former standout Josh Chavis has returned to the program as an assistant coach.
Chavis returns to Spartanburg following a highly successful tenure as an assistant coach at High Point Christian Academy in High Point, N.C., and Dudley High School in Greensboro, N.C. During his four seasons on the sidelines, Chavis helped eight different student-athletes earn a spot on an NCAA Division I roster.
Chavis also played an instrumental role in leading High Point Christian Academy to three straight North Carolina State semifinal appearances.
“We are real pleased to have Josh Chavis join our staff as an assistant coach,” Payne said. “As a former player and a graduate of our program and university, Josh will do an outstanding job of selling our program because he believes in it and knows what USC Upstate stands for. We’re grateful that he has decided to join our staff.”
A four-year letterwinner as a player at USC Upstate, Chavis helped usher the program into the Division I era as a freshman in the Spartans’ 2007-08 inaugural D1 season. He would go on to start 91 of the 117 career games in which he played and help set a foundation for the success Upstate basketball has grown accustomed to.
Chavis proved to be one of the most dynamic and versatile guards in school history and finished his career with 848 points to rank sixth all-time during the Division I era. He quickly established himself as one of the top three-pointer shooters in the A-Sun and stands fifth all-time at Upstate with 200 career treys. Chavis turned in three seasons with over 50 three-pointers and sunk 10 triples against Florida Gulf Coast in 2009 for the most in a single game in school history during the Division I era.
“I’m really excited that Coach Payne gave me the opportunity to come back to my alma mater and begin my collegiate coaching career,” Chavis said. “I can’t wait to get to work with the veteran players and the newcomers we have entering the program. I already like the makeup of this team and look forward to another successful season inside the Hodge Center.”
Chavis also ranks first in the Division I era in career free throw percentage (.805), third in assists (295), seventh in steals (90), seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.333), ninth in field goals made (262) and ninth in free throws made (124).