by Rosbie Mutcherson Jr. has always thought about getting to the Division I level, even before coaching basketball.
That vision became reality on Aug. 25, when Cleveland State men’s basketball head coach Dennis Gates announced the addition of Mutcherson as the team’s new Director of Video Operations.
“I’m very excited to announce Rosbie Mutcherson has joined our coaching staff,” Dennis Gates said in a statement. “Rosbie brings great basketball knowledge and coaching experiences that have prepared him to excel as a Division I video coordinator and beyond. He has a great balance of avidity, love and patience required to develop our student-athletes. We are hiring a future star.”
Mutcherson spent last year as an assistant coach at Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, Utah. There, the Bruins accumulated a 29-4 overall record, where they went undefeated in conference play (12-0) and were crowned district champions.
Mutcherson replaces Steven Wright, who accepted a role as an assistant coach at Bowling Green State University in May.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity Coach Gates has given me to learn from him and his staff,” Mutcherson said. “There are a lot of great junior college coaches who have gone on to become successful Division I head coaches and I strive to follow in their footsteps.”
Mutcherson graduated from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, earning a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2014. From there, he started his coaching career at Adams State University in Alamosa, CO a graduate assistant.
His other coaching opportunities led him to TNG Prep Academy and Believe Prep, working under head coach at Chipola College Donnie Tyndall and Wichita State assistant Tyson Waterman, Northwest Florida State College for two years and then with Salt Lake Community College last year.
Mutcherson has never been at the Division I level as a player or coach. What he’s been able to do the past couple of years have prepared him for this opportunity. He’s ready to assimilate into a new role.
“At the junior college level, you have to be able to do a lot,” he said. “That’ll certainly help me, but there’s going to be a learning curve that I’m going to have to lean on my resources heavily.
“At the end of the day, I love basketball. I’ve been an assistant and kind of thrown into these roles throughout my career from postgrad to Division III,” Mutcherson continued. “I think I can bring that type of assistant coach mindset to the video role. I think like a basketball guy through and through and bringing that to the video role will help.”
Mutcherson was able to meet some of the team captains through a zoom call as part of the interview process for the job. He hasn’t been able to spend time with the team yet as he is still in the quarantine process after moving from Florida at the end of August.
Once the quarantine process is over, Mutcherson plans on being around the players and his staff more frequently. But for now, he’s eager to start a new chapter in his career.
“You want to get to the highest level and being able to get to the highest level in Division I was a big goal of mine,” he said. “It’s awesome, I’m really excited. Not to be just at the Division I level, but to be at Cleveland State. I believe Cleveland State is going to be a power in the Horizon League and I’m excited to be a part of it.
