Former NBA Player Nutt Joins Coker Staff

by Christian Stryker, SID Coker College

Hartsville, S.C. — Former NBA player and scout Dennis Nutt is joining Coker College Athletics as a fundraising consultant and assistant men’s basketball coach.

Nutt played professional basketball from 1986-1990 with the Dallas Mavericks and in the European Basketball Association and the Continental Basketball Association. Most recently, he was a college scout for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats and assistant men’s basketball coach at Coastal Carolina University.

“We are thrilled to have someone with Dennis’ experience to work with our student-athletes,” said Coker College President Dr. Robert Wyatt. “He is also the perfect person to help us acquire the necessary resources to ensure the competitiveness of our athletic program well into the future.”

From 2000 to 2006, Nutt coached the NCAA Division I Texas State University Bobcats, setting several school records. He was the assistant coach for the Arkansas State Red Wolves from 1995 to 2000, helping lead that team to the 1999 NCAA Tournament and two Sunbelt conference championships. Nutt has also coached at Westark Community College in Arkansas and as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M University.

A graduate of Texas Christian University (TCU), Nutt played four years of basketball for the Horned Frogs. He is a 2009 inductee into the TCU Hall of Fame. During that time his assistant coach was Dan Schmotzer, who has been Coker College’s men’s basketball coach for the past 22 years.

“It is a blessing to be able to work with Dennis again,” said Schmotzer. “His charisma and strong character are not only going to make the basketball program better, it is going to have a positive effect on the entire college.”

A native of Little Rock, Ark., Nutt is the youngest of four brothers with successful coaching careers: Houston Nutt is the head football coach at the University of Mississippi, Dickey Nutt is the head men’s basketball coach at Southeastern Missouri State University, and Danny Nutt is the Assistant Athletics Director for Player Development at the University of Mississippi.

“I'm extremely excited about the opportunity that Dr. Wyatt has given me to be part of Coker College,” said Nutt. “I'm anxious to get started with fundraising. Coker College has so much to offer. I am also grateful for the chance to work for one of my former coaches. Dan’s knowledge and enthusiasm for the game of basketball, and his players, are unmatched at any level.”

Nutt resides in Myrtle Beach, S.C, with his wife, Vicki, and their twin daughters, Macy and Myca.