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Coaching Staff
Justin Namolik
Head Coach
On April 3, 2009, Justin Namolik was named head men’s basketball coach at Shepherd University.
During the 2011-12 season, Namolik led the Rams to a 14-14 overall record, with a 11-11 mark in conference play. The team improved in the win column for the second straight year and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
“My first recruiting class at Shepherd will be seniors this year. They have established the culture of Shepherd Basketball and have been the leaders in the progress we have made on the court. They know this is their last chance to break through to the top of the WVIAC and are determined to do so.”
In three years, Namolik has recruited seventeen student-athletes including Chad Moore, 2012 All-WVIAC First Team and Daktronics All-Atlantic Region Second Team and Brantley Osborne, a member of the 2011 WVIAC All-Freshman Team. Moore is the first Ram to gain Daktronics All-Region honors since Antar Parkman in 2001. Namolik also coached Derek Gallagher, the 2010 WVIAC Sparky Adams Heart and Hustle Award winner. Thirteen of the 17 student-athletes he has recruited have graduated or are currently enrolled at Shepherd working toward their degree.
During the 2008-09 season as interim head coach, Namolik led the Rams to a 13-16 overall mark with an 11-9 conference record, including wins over #22 Pitt-Johnstown on January 3 and West Virginia State on January 7. Shepherd handed the Yellow Jackets their only WVIAC regular season loss.
He was an assistant coach with the Rams from 2006-08 and helped lead the Rams to a 32-26 record and Shepherd’s first back-to-back winning seasons in 14 years. He coached Danley Shank, an All-WVIAC First Team choice.
Prior to Shepherd, Namolik was the top assistant coach at Saint Vincent College for three seasons, where he helped lead the Bearcats to a 68-24 record and two “Sweet Sixteen” appearances in the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The 2004-05 team finished the season ranked #4 in NAIA Division II, 25-5 overall, and 14-0 in the AMC, becoming only the second team in the 56 year history of the conference to go undefeated in the regular season, joining the 1982-83 Walsh team coached by Bob Huggins. Namolik coached All-Americans Tony Washam and Kenny Roberts and All-AMC First Team Jeff Mallory. Namolik played a vital role in recruiting four players, Billy Bains, Javille Brooks, Mike Medved, and Marc Duncan, who received PAC Coaches Honors (PAC Coaches Honors is All-PAC equivalent for NCAA Division III provisional members). While at Saint Vincent, 17 of the 21 student-athletes he coached or recruited graduated from Saint Vincent.
Namolik played collegiately at Columbia University of the Ivy League for Armond Hill, a Princeton alum, former NBA player, and current assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. He is the all-time leader in games started in Columbia history and is currently ranked 18th on the all-time scoring list with 1,040 career points.
A West Virginia native, Namolik was a First Team All-State performer for Wheeling Park High School and during his senior year, he helped lead the team to a 24-2 record, a #1 ranking in state, and the 1995 AAA West Virginia State Championship.
Prior to his coaching career, Namolik worked on Wall Street and traded NASDAQ stocks for Heartland Securities for three years. He has a bachelor of science degree in computer engineering from Columbia University and a master of science degree in curriculum and instruction from Saint Vincent College.
He resides in Shepherdstown with his wife, Kerri, their dog Duke, and their iguana, Iggy.
Justin Namolik
Head Men's Basketball Coach
Butcher Center P.O. Box 5000
Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443-5000
Phone: 304-671-2319 | Fax: 304/876-3267
jnamolik@shepherd.edu
Eric Gabriel
Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
Eric Gabriel joined the Shepherd University Rams basketball staff during the summer of 2012 after spending a four-year stint coaching at NCAA institutions in North Carolina. Preceding his collegiate coaching career, he spent four years coaching at the high school level in Ohio.
Gabriel commented on joining the Shepherd basketball program with this, “I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity Coach Namolik and Shepherd University have given me. The tradition and level of competition among NCAA Division II basketball in West Virginia is second to none. Shepherd University athletics as an entirety are exciting to be a part of right now and I’m looking forward to being part of the basketball program’s journey with the foundation that Coach Namolik has built.”
Prior to coming to Shepherd, Gabriel served three seasons as an assistant at NCAA Division II Mount Olive College, where the Trojans compiled a record of 60-27 winning a conference regular season and tournament championship in 2010 with a 25-6 record.
During his three seasons at Mount Olive he had the opportunity to coach two Conference-Carolinas players of the year, as well as coach the conference freshman of the year. In addition, Mount Olive also had three other all-conference performers during this time.
At Mount Olive, Gabriel’s main duties included recruiting coordinator, strength and conditioning coordinator, and head of scouting opponents. He also helped to oversee player academics, assist in practice planning, on floor coaching, and all other areas of the program. On the floor, Gabriel was in charge of implementing and coaching out of bounds plays and zone defenses.
Before being hired at Mount Olive, Gabriel spent the 2008-09 season at NCAA Division III Methodist University as an assistant coach. During his year with the Monarchs he assisted with recruiting, scouting, and on floor coaching while coordinating the strength and conditioning program.
Prior to making the jump to the collegiate level, Gabriel spent four years at the high school level in Ohio. His first two years were as an assistant coach to his father Blaine at his alma mater, Alexander High School in Albany, Ohio. During the 2005-06 season, the Spartans set school records for both total wins (18) and consecutive wins (16), finishing the season with a school best 18-4 record.
Gabriel then took over as head coach at Fort Loramie High School in Fort Loramie, Ohio. The Redskins had won just six games the season prior to Gabriel’s arrival, but during the 2007-08 season he guided the program to a 15-8 record including two wins in the OHSAA tournament.
Gabriel played collegiate basketball at West Liberty University from 2000-04. He was a three-year starting point guard and named co-captain during his senior campaign. He played high school basketball at Alexander High School in southeast Ohio setting school records in all assists categories. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from West Liberty in 2004 and a master of science in recreation and sport sciences from Ohio University in 2011.
He married his wife, Misty, in September 2007 and they reside in Martinsburg with their English bulldog, Deuce.
Eric Gabriel
Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
Butcher Center P.O. Box 5000
Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443-5000
Phone: 800/344-5231 ext. 5439 | Fax: 304/876-3267
egabriel@shepherd.edu
Mike Branson
Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
Entering his 12th season on the Ram basketball coaching staff is Mike Branson, a 1992 Shepherd graduate and former Ram player.
Branson is responsible for on court teaching at practice and specializes in defense. He also assists in program fundraising and community and alumni relations .
Branson works for Allstate Insurance and has a son, Nicholas. Branson grew up in Shepherdstown and has a brother, Carlton, who also played for the Rams.
“We are very fortunate to have a former Ram player on our staff. Mike believes in Shepherd and what we do and he is committed to getting Shepherd basketball to the top of the WVIAC.”
Tripp Lowe
Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
Also in his 12th season on the Ram basketball staff is Tripp Lowe.
Lowe is responsible for on court teaching at practice and specializes in offense. He also assists in program fundraising and community and alumni relations.
Lowe, a 1995 graduate of Shepherd, is no stranger to the Shepherd basketball program. His father, Ken Lowe, Jr., was an assistant coach under Bob Starkey. Lowe is the director of operations at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Shepherdstown.
“Tripp bleeds blue and gold and his passion for Shepherd basketball is unmatched. An optimistic coach and businessman, Tripp is confident we are going to be a contender in the WVIAC and is always trying to find ways both on and off the court to make that happen.”
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