July 30, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tom Garrick, former Head Coach at the University of Rhode Island, will join Melanie Balcomb’s women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach, Vanderbilt officials announced Thursday.
Garrick has spent the past 11 years coaching at his alma mater, including the last five seasons as the head coach of the Rams’ women’s basketball team.
“We are very excited to have Tom Garrick joining our staff,” Balcomb said. “He brings an exceptional wealth of knowledge with him. I know Tom’s vast experience — as both a player and a coach — will be an invaluable asset to our program.”
Garrick began his coaching career as an assistant for the Rhode Island men’s team in 1998-99, helping the Rams win the Atlantic-10 Championship in his first year. In 2001, he moved over to the women’s side to work under Head Coach Boe Pearman.
When Pearman took a leave of absence in 2004, Garrick was named the acting head coach. He would take an assistant coaching position at the University of Virginia that spring before returning to Rhode Island in August to become the school’s sixth head coach.
“I’m pretty ecstatic about the opportunity that Coach Balcomb has given me,” Garrick said. “Vanderbilt is a wonderful, established program, and I look forward to this new experience.”
An outstanding player at Rhode Island, Garrick was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1988 and would play in the NBA for four seasons, including stints in San Antonio, Minnesota and Dallas. Garrick’s professional career also took the “Ocean State” native overseas to play in Germany, Turkey and Spain during a six-year span.
Garrick earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Rhode Island, where he was a four-year letterwinner for the men’s basketball team. He led the 1988 squad to the Sweet 16, compiling a program-best 28-7 record along the way. Garrick still ranks among the school’s all-time Top 10 in scoring (1,573 points) steals (189) and assists (407), and was inducted into the URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
During his prep career, Garrick was a two-time all-state basketball player for West Warwick (R.I.) High School, while also excelling in football.
Garrick’s hiring fills the assistant coaching position vacated by Lisa Cermignano, who joined the staff at Illinois after three years with the Commodores.