Schrage Adds Mark Adams to Elon Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff

ELON, N.C. – Elon University head men’s basketball coach Mike Schrage announced Monday, June 3, the addition of Mark Adams to his coaching staff. Adams joins the staff as an assistant coach with 27 years of coaching and training experience at the collegiate, professional and high school levels.

“It is hard to believe but I have now known Mark for 20 years,” said Schrage. “He was a successful high school coach before finding his niche and excelling as a professional skills trainer. He has worked with some of the best players both here in our state and in the country. We are going to place a big-time premium on player development here, and Mark’s experience should only highlight that more. His passion for basketball, and life overall, has always inspired me and will undoubtedly do the same daily with our players. Please welcome Mark, his wife – Kara – and two sons – Riley and Logan – to the Phoenix Family.”

Adams joins the program after spending the past 16 seasons as a professional skills trainer and a head men’s basketball coach at the high school level in the states of North Carolina and Florida. As a professional skills trainer, Adams has done player development and consulting for some of the best basketball organizations, including USA Basketball, Jr. NBA and NBA Cares while also conducting NBA and NBA Pre-Draft workouts. Additionally, Adams has previous experience at the collegiate level, working with legendary Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim before becoming an assistant coach at Barton College.

“I’ve known Mike Schrage for 20 years and he’s as good as it gets on and off the court,” said Adams. “Elon is a special university and I’m truly thankful for the opportunity to be a part of coach Schrage’s staff and vision for Elon basketball. This is a blessing for me and my family and we are thrilled to join the Elon community.”

As a skills trainer, Adams oversaw camps and clinics both domestically and internationally while providing individual and group workouts for some of the top high school players, AAU/travel basketball programs and collegiate players in the country. He also conducted NBA and NBA Pre-Draft workouts with players such as Brandon Ingram of the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee of the Denver Nuggets.

As a head coach at the high school level, Adams accumulated 260 career wins in the states of North Carolina and Florida. Most recently at the high school level, he served as the head coach at Panther Creek High School in Cary, N.C., from 2010-12. He was also a high school head coach in Raleigh for five seasons from 1996-2001 at St. Timothy’s-Hale and Cardinal Gibbons. While posting a record of 86-51 over those five seasons, Adams led both teams to Final 8 appearances in the state tournament, as well as conference regular season and tournament titles. At St. Timothy’s-Hale during the 1997-98 season, Adams guided his team to a 24-4 record – the school’s best record ever – with conference regular season and tournament championships. The team also made a N.C.I.S.A.A. 1A Final Four Appearance and Adams was named the Coastal Plains Independent Conference Coach of the Year.

Adams also had stints at high schools in Florida for nine years at Fort Pierce Central High School from 2001-05 and Sebastian River High School from 2005-10. During that time, Adams was a two-time Coach of the Year, coached in the Don Wallen State of Florida All-Star Games, won three straight district championships and collected 103 career victories at Sebastian River.

Adams earned his undergraduate degree in communications from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y., in 1992. A four-year letterwinner in basketball, Adams is a member of the program’s 1,000-point club, led the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1992 and was inducted into the St. John Fisher College Hall of Fame as a member of the 2005 class. Adams earned his masters degree in higher postsecondary education from Syracuse in 1994 while on staff with Boeheim.

Adams comes to Elon along with his wife, the former Kara June Colucci, and his two sons Riley and Logan.