Georgia College announced June 23, that long-time Bobcat Ryan Aquino will take over the helm as head coach of its men’s basketball team.
Aquino played basketball for the Bobcats under former head coach Mark Gainous before graduating in May 2012, then earned a second degree from GC in 2015 while also serving as a graduate assistant.
“This has been the only place I would call home since 2008. The chance to stay here and continue off of the success that we've had on and off the court is special to me,” Aquino said.
“I am truly blessed and excited about this opportunity. I think we can do a lot of special things because this is a special place.”
Aquino enjoyed an immensely successful time at GC during his four-year tenure as a Bobcat player, ranking top-10 in four different categories in the team’s all-time record book.
During his senior campaign, Aquino secured the second all-time leading slot for single-season rebounds per game with 10.4. He also holds the fifth slot for rebounds in a single season at 282, and the same overall position with 750 career rebounds. He also places sixth overall in double-digit scoring at 29 games over the course of his GC playing career.
Aquino also earned several honors that contributed to him being an ideal candidate for the head coach position, including being named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Daktronics All-Southeast first team. Not only was he a region first-team member, he also was a Peach Belt Conference (PBC) first-teamer, too. To cap off his impressive career he also secured a spot in the Reese’s Senior All-Star game.
Aquino also served as the primary recruiter for GC men’s basketball in recent years. In that role he was able to form bonds with high-school coaches and travel-ball coaches alike to secure the best players that also fit within the Georgia College culture.
“Our standards are so high, academically, socially, character; that's why we're able to do what we do and have so much confidence in what we do,” said Director of Athletics Wendell Staton. “The success we've had, Ryan (Aquino) has been the primary person recruiting. He's gotten to the point that when high school coaches know they have a 'Georgia College player' they call Ryan. That just doesn't happen overnight.”
Aquino made several off-season tweaks to the Bobcat offense before kicking off the 2021-22 season. The team changed from a mid-range, jumpshot-taking offense to a quicker-paced approach that shoots behind the arc and charges harder to the basket. This offense led the Bobcats not only to the (PBC) tournament, but to the NCAA tournament where they competed in the Southeast Regional division.
The 2022-23 BC Bobcats schedule has not yet been released, nor have the pre-season rankings.