Associate Head Coach
JONATHAN TSIPIS Associate Head Coach • Ninth Season
North Carolina ’96 THE TSIPIS FILE • Birthdate: Nov. 7, 1972 • Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio • Education: 1996 – B.S., RPh, in pharmacy from North Carolina
Coaching Experience 2003-present University of Notre Dame Assistant Coach/Associate Head Coach (Ninth Season) 2002-03 University of North Carolina-Greensboro Director of Men’s Basketball Operations (One Season) 2000-02 Elon (N.C.) University Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach (Two Seasons) 1999-2000 LeMoyne College Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach (One Season) 1996-99 Cornell University Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach (Three Seasons) Jonathan Tsipis is in his ninth season at Notre Dame and his fourth as associate head coach after being promoted to that post in July 2008. Since joining head coach Muffet McGraw’s staff in May 2003, Tsipis (pronounced SIP-iss) has worked primarily with the Fighting Irish wings, while also coordinating Notre Dame’s scheduling, nationally-ranked recruiting efforts and scouting plans, and contributing to practice planning. “Jonathan is a dedicated and respected coach and role model for our players,” McGraw said. “He has done a tremendous job as our recruiting coordinator and his track record in terms of player development and game scouting is among the best in the country. I rely on him for his invaluable insights, passion and drive, and I’m looking forward to having him on the bench as we continue making our move back to the top of college basketball. “Jonathan really understands the game from all angles and does a tremendous job of passing that knowledge on to our team,” she added. “He’s a great teacher who stresses the fundamentals above everything else. His scouting reports and game preparation skills are also excellent, and he’s very poised and confident under pressure, which are all qualities that our players respond 52 well to.”
In his first eight seasons with the Fighting Irish, Tsipis has helped Notre Dame to a 193-72 (.728) record, including the 2011 NCAA national championship game and four NCAA Sweet 16 berths. He also has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the nation’s top young assistants, thanks in part to his uncanny success with both player development and game scouting. Thus, it was no surprise that Tsipis was one of five people selected to receive the 2008-09 BasketballScoop.com Coach of the Year honor. The award recognizes those assistant coaches who are among the best in the business, as determined by their peers. In October 2011, he was rated as one of the top 10 active assistant coaches in the nation by CollegeInsider.com. Tsipis’ track record of player development with Notre Dame began almost from the moment he set foot on campus. In fact, during his eight-year career, Tsipis has coached four All-Americans (who earned a total of six citations), tutoring at least one Fighting Irish player to All-America honors in six different seasons, including four of the past five years. He also has mentored two WNBA Draft picks (including one future WNBA champion), the BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year and the BIG EAST Most Improved Player, not to mention four players who earned a combined total of eight all-BIG EAST selections and three invitations to USA Basketball National Team trials. Most recently, Tsipis has been responsible for overseeing the development of guard Natalie Novosel, who emerged in 2010-11 as the nation’s most improved player, more than tripling her scoring average from the previous season (5.0 to team-high 15.1 ppg.), while scoring in double figures a team-best 33 times (the second-highest
single-season total in school history. She also posted seven 20-point games (her career high entering the season had been 19 points) and recorded a team-high .413 three-point percentage, while ranking second on the team in steals (1.9 spg.) and third in assists (1.9 apg.). In addition, Novosel set school records for free throws made (183) and games started (39), while her 232 free throw attempts were second-most in school history. For her efforts, Novosel was named a State Farm Coaches’ honorable mention All-American and a first-team all-BIG EAST selection, as well as the BIG EAST Most Improved Player. Tsipis’ run of success in molding young talent dates back to 2003-04, when he helped guide forward Jacqueline Batteast to the most productive years of her career (2003-04 and 2004-05), averaging 16.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while twice earning All-America honors, including a spot on the prestigious 10-player State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team and third-team laurels from the Associated Press in 2004-05. Batteast also was the ’04-05 BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year and a two-time first-team all-conference pick. Following her brilliant college career, Batteast was chosen by the Minnesota Lynx in the second round of the ’05 WNBA Draft, and won a WNBA title with the Detroit Shock in 2006. In 2005-06, Tsipis helped then-freshman guard Lindsay Schrader to one of the best rookie seasons in school history, averaging 10.5 points and a team-high 5.4 rebounds per game. She also became the second Fighting Irish women’s basketball player (and first in 26 years) to start her career with a double-double, and ended her first year under the Golden Dome with a careerhigh 29-point outburst against Boston College in the NCAA tournament (one of the 10 highest single-game scoring efforts of the 2006 NCAA Championship). In 2006-07, Tsipis expertly tutored junior guard Charel Allen to State Farm Coaches’ honorable mention All-America status, as well as a firstteam all-BIG EAST selection. Allen doubled her scoring average from the previous year to a careerbest 17.0 points per game (seventh in the BIG EAST) and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. In
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