Gabe Michael is in his second year on head coach Tom Parrotta's staff, and is entering his first season as an assistant coach after serving as the program's director of basketball operations in 2010-11. Michael was promoted to the coaching staff in August 2011 after Tim Paul made the move to become Canisius' director of student-athlete academic support services.
In his new role, the Buffalo native is responsible for in-game coaching, practice planning, opponent scouting while assisting with the program's recruiting efforts. As the director of basketball operations, Michael handled the Golden Griffins' film exchange program, team travel, meal coordination, the team's undergraduate managerial group, on-campus recruiting and the Canisius College Boys Basketball Camps.
"Gabe has demonstrated all the characteristics that a head coach looks for in an assistant coach," Parrotta said when Michael was promoted. "He did a great job for us in his role as director of basketball operations and he has proven that he deserves this opportunity through his hard work and loyalty."
He joined the Canisius staff after spending the five previous seasons as an assistant coach on Mike MacDonald's staff at Medaille College, where he helped lead the Mavericks to back-to-back Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championships and two-straight berths into the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. Michael joined the Mavericks staff after a one-year stint at Hiram College in 2006. Prior to his time at Hiram, he was the head freshman team and varsity assistant coach at Canisius High School, where he guided the school's freshman squad to a perfect 19-0 record while the varsity team won the 2005 Manhattan Cup championship.
Michael graduated from Xavier in 2004 with his degree in entrepreneurship. While at Xavier, he volunteered as a student-manager with the men's basketball team when the Musketeers won the Atlantic 10 championship and advanced to the school's first "Elite Eight" appearance under then-head coach Thad Matta.
Michael currently lives in Buffalo.
