As promised, less than 48 hours after Donnie Tyndall was officially introduced as Tennessee’s basketball coach he has a full coaching staff. Tyndall has prior working experience with each of his hires. Here’s some info on his staff.

Al Pinkins (assistant): Originally from Camilla, Georgia, Pinkins played college basketball at NC State (1994-97) where he averaged 9.5 points and 7 rebounds during his career. A 6-6 forward, Pinkins went on to play basketball professionally (Europe) before starting his career as a coach. He also won two state basketball championships in high school and was the starting quarterback on his team’s 1990 state championship. Pinkins spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Ole Miss where he helped develop All-SEC post players Terrance Henry, Murphy Holloway, and Reginald Buckner. Prior to his time in Oxford, he spent eight seasons at Middle Tennessee State where he coached with Tyndall for several years. While at MTSU, he helped recruit the No. 1 class in the Sun Belt in 2007 and developed All-Sun Belt Conference forward Desmond Yates. In Pinkins, the Vols are getting an assistant with numerous recruiting ties in Tennessee and across the Southeast. He has a track record of success both as a recruiter and as an assistant coach who develops post players.

Adam Howard (assistant): He joins Tyndall in Knoxville after coaching with him at Southern Miss and Murray State. Howard played collegiate basketball at Western Kentucky (under former South Carolina HC Darrin Horn) and was a backup guard on their 2008 run to the Sweet 16. He joined Tyndall’s staff at Morehead State in 2009 as a graduate assistant and was promoted to an assistant coach a year later. He’ll be entering his sixth season as an assistant on Tyndall’s staff this fall.

Chris Shumate (assistant): He played under current Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin at Murray State where he averaged over 10 points per game and shot over 40% from three. After his college career, he played for three seasons in the NBA Developmental League. When he ended his playing career, he joined Cronin’s staff at Cincinnati where he spent six seasons serving in multiple roles (including director of basketball operations and director of student-athlete development). He joined Tyndall’s staff at Southern Miss as an assistant coach and will fill that same role in Knoxville.

Justin Phelps (director of basketball operations): Phelps is a proven commodity in this industry with SEC ties and a diverse background of basketball experience. He spent two years with Tyndall as director of basketball operations at Southern Miss, a role he previously filled at South Carolina. Phelps founded and directed the All-American Junior College Showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2010. He spent four seasons on staff at Kent State–the Golden Flashes won 20 games every season during his tenure. While at Kent State, he worked with Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates.

Jareem Dowling (player development): Dowling spent three seasons on Tyndall’s staff before coming to Knoxville—two at Southern Miss and one at Morehead State. Originally from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, he moved to Delaware during his high school. He played collegiate ball at Cecil College before transferring to Maryland Eastern Shore. He spent time as the head coach of the U.S. Virgin Islands 17-and-under national team which won a silver medal and has coaching experience at Slippery Rock and Cecil College. In his three years coaching at Cecil (2005-08), they went  97-6 and finished the season ranked No. 1 each year. He will operate in a player develop capacity at Tennessee.