Jason Gilliam-Alexander enters his third season with the FMU Lions as an assistant men's basketball coach.
Gilliam-Alexander, best known as the Protégé, is one of the top defensive coaches and recruiters in NAIA. Under FMU head coach Ansar Al-Ameen, Gilliam-Alexander brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that he has accumulated over the course of his career both as a player and a coach.
Having played for coaching legends such as Jack Curran at Archbishop Molloy High School (N.Y.), Steve Smith at Oak Hill Academy (Va.), Nate “Tiny” Archibald at the Boston Shootout, and NBA alum Al Skinner at the University of Rhode Island helped mold Gilliam-Alexander’s coaching identity.
Also, having played alongside eventual NBA players such as Kenny Anderson, Robert Werdann, and current ESPN/ACC Analyst Cory Alexander; while also being mentored by NBA All-Star and current ESPN/ABC Analyst Mark Jackson and two-time NBA Champion and current NBA on TNT Analyst Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Gilliam-Alexander knows the blueprint for success, and is ready, willing, and able to share it with the players he coaches.
During his first two full seasons, Gilliam-Alexander helped FMU reach its first Sun Conference tournament in three years and become a top-ranked defensive and rebounding team in both the Sun Conference and NAIA. Among other things, FMU finished the 2019–20 season as the Sun Conference’s third-ranked defensive field goal percentage team and the 2020–21 season as the first ranked defensive field goal percentage team. The Lions also finished the 2020–21 season in the top thirty-five in several key statistical categories for NAIA and with an improved season win total, all of which has laid the groundwork for a winning program.
In his first season with FMU, Gilliam-Alexander helped the Lions become a top-ranked defense in NAIA Division II. The Lions were ranked 20th in defensive rebounds per Game (29.333), 25th in blocks per game (3.593), and 31st in field goal percentage defense (0.427).
The Lions fared even better under his leadership as an assistant coach in his second season when NAIA merged Divisions I and II. The Lions reached their first Sun Conference tournament in three years during that season due in large part to their defense and rebounding. They were ranked 29th in Division I in field goal percentage defense (0.417), 26th in total blocks (91), 13th in blocks per game (3.792), and 36th in defensive rebounds per game (29.292).
Prior to joining the Lions, Gilliam-Alexander coached the Plantation Power and the Miami Lightning travel basketball programs, both participants in the grassroots Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit. From 2017–19, he taught English at Nova High School in Davie, Florida, where he also served as the assistant varsity coach and the head junior varsity coach for the boys’ basketball program. Those teams reached the Broward Schools District playoffs under his leadership and the players maintained a team grade point average above 3.0 while doing so.
Gilliam-Alexander also is a part of the coaching staff for the USA East Coast Basketball program. The USA ECB serves as basketball’s unofficial study abroad program, founded by Guy Rancourt, and has introduced the world of international professional and national team basketball to college basketball’s best and brightest stars for over a decade.
Gilliam-Alexander, 48, has one daughter, Brianna. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, he serves as an adjunct instructor at FMU and a broadcaster for NFHS Network, among other organizations. He received his B.A. from Stetson University (Fla.) and was recently awarded an honorary doctorate degree in Humanitarianism from Global International Alliance.
