Akeem Miskdeen returns to the Hampton University men’s basketball program, where he is entering his fifth year on the staff – and his third as associate head coach. He is the program’s recruiting coordinator, and he is also responsible for guard development, opponent scouting, and coordinating the team’s travel.
Miskdeen was named associate head coach prior to the 2013-14 season.
This past season, Miskdeen helped guide the Pirates to a 21-11 overall record and the MEAC regular season title with a mark of 13-3 before defending the conference tournament championship. The Pirates again earned the MEAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region and taking on Virginia.
Hampton won its first MEAC regular-season crown since the 2001-02 season.
Along the way, guards Quinton Chievous and Reginald Johnson, Jr. (both Chicago natives) were First Team All-MEAC honorees. Both players ranked top four in the conference in scoring, and Chievous – one of only a handful of players nationally to average a double-double – led the MEAC in overall rebounding, offensive rebounds, and defensive rebounds.
Johnson was also named the MEAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, averaging 19.3 points and 8.3 assists per contest in those three games. He tied a MEAC Tournament record with 13 assists in the quarterfinals against Morgan State.
Chievous was also named to the MEAC’s All-Tournament Team.
Miskdeen was a key component of the Pirates’ run through the MEAC and NCAA Tournaments in the 2014-15 season, and he helped guide junior guard Deron Powers to Third Team All-MEAC honors as well as the MEAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honor. In addition, Johnson was named to the MEAC’s All-Tournament Team.
Both players’ performances were key in Hampton winning the MEAC Tournament – upsetting the tournament’s No. 3, No. 2, and No. 5 seeds in the process – as well as an NCAA first-round match-up against Manhattan in Dayton, Ohio.
It was the program’s second-ever NCAA Div. I Tournament win.
Miskdeen has been key in developing the Pirates’ identity for the past couple seasons, and the coming 2015-16 campaign will be the program’s third year with a philosophy of DTP – trying to instill discipline, toughness, and passion into a young and talented team that showed flashes of promise in 2012-13.
He helped develop DTP with head coach Edward Joyner Jr., and going forward, the coaching staff looks to use DTP in order to get the Pirates to play the simple game of a basketball aggressively, while simultaneously reaching their full potential on and off the court and never losing sight of their goals.
Miskdeen also hopes DTP will be a good tool for teaching important life lessons.
Miskdeen was key in the development of Powers, who was the 2013 MEAC Rookie of the Year after leading the Pirates to a third-place regular-season finish. Powers grew into his role, leading the Pirates in scoring and assists. He was fourth in the MEAC in assists – and was the top freshman in that category – and he was second in the conference in free throw shooting.
Powers, who was named a CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshman All-American, was also a five-time MEAC Rookie of the Week.
Miskdeen returned to the Pirates following two coaching stops; his first coaching job came at Div. II Mount Olive College, where in 2009-10, the team went 25-6 (19-1 in the conference). Mount Olive won the Conference Carolinas regular season and tournament titles and earned a No. 25 national ranking while advancing to the NCAA Div. II Tournament. On top of handling recruiting efforts, Miskdeen helped develop forward Craig Hayes, who wound up a Second Team All-Conference selection.
From Mount Olive, Miskdeen was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Wingate University in 2010-11, helping the team finish the season 19-10 and 12-6 in conference place. He oversaw the development of Odell turner, a First Team All-Conference selection, and Jaime Vaughn, who earned Second Team honors.
Miskdeen spent the 2008-09 season at Hampton serving as the Director of Basketball Operations under former head coach Kevin Nickelberry. In that capacity, Miskdeen oversaw on-campus recruiting, monitoring study hall, coordinating team travel, scouting, academics, and assisting the rest of the coaching staff in their day-to-day activities.
The Pirates went 16-16 that season.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Miskdeen spent two years at Laramie County (Wyo.) Community College before transferring to Queens University in 2006. Miskdeen served as team captain both years at Laramie, and he is the school’s all-time assist leader with 306.
He was named Laramie Student of the Year in 2006.
At Queens, Miskdeen was a two-time Defensive MVP, and he served as team captain during the 2007-08 season. He also made the All-Tournament Team that year, and Miskdeen led Queens to back-to-back NCAA Div. II Tournament appearances before graduating in 2008 with a degree in corporate communication.
He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree, with an expected graduation date of May 2016, and Miskdeen is married to the former LaSherra Joyner.
